Edmonton based travel agent, Newwest, has pulled out of the deal that would have seen Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star, dock near the Lion's Gate Bridge, in Vancouver, to serve as accomodations during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. The Winter Games will take place in and around Vancouver starting in seven days.
The last minute decision has thrown a considerable wrench in the travel and accommodation plans of many Olympic visitors. The surrounding communities and nearby accommodations, meals, entertainment, travel, (etc), providers are left salivating at the thoughts of desperate hordes tourist ready for the picking. Taking the Norwegian Star out of the pictures, and its capacity to house, feed and entertain 1,600 people, will undoubtedly impact the overall tourist based businesses of the city and surrounding communities.
Newwest cited lack of interest and mounting costs in pulling the plug on the project, which is kind of strange seeing how they have reportedly sold 800 of the 1100 rooms available. You can see their brief apology on the Facebook page, and read further on local media website.Labels: business, cruise ships, in the media, NCL, west coast
