NCL Comments on GAO Report

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Colin Veitch Responds to GAO Report on NCL’s Project America.

The GAO report released today confirms what Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has known from the beginning – Project America is good for American workers and for consumers. It means more competition in the cruise industry and will result in more choices for vacationing families. It is good for the U.S. economy because it has already created more than 1,000 new jobs and will add badly needed tax revenues to federal and state treasuries. Once fully implemented, this project will generate more than 20,000 jobs and over $800 million annually in economic activity.

NCL made the decision to have a real presence in Hawai`i despite its bigger and more established competitors. NCL embarked on this initiative when none of its competitors would. This report makes clear that NCL serves as a competitive check on the two cruise lines that currently dominate North American cruises.

The company is proud to be the only cruise operator willing to embrace a U.S.-flag operation and look forward to providing high-quality service in the Hawai`i islands in an entirely new way.

To read the full report, please go to www.gao.gov.