Campbell River Indian Band will be getting marketing help from Naut’sa mawt Resources Group for work on its Weiwaikum Cruise Ship Terminal.

The deal calls for NRG to develop short and long-term marketing plans for the terminal, which is the only First Nation-owned cruise ship terminal in the world.

Last year it began to serve major cruise lines with visits from four full-sized ships. It hopes to increase that to 30 or more per year by 2015. That will provide a boost to the tourism industry in the north-central part of Vancouver Island and will showcase Campbell River Band’s community to travelers from throughout the world.

NRG president Robert Duncan began working on the project in January as he made visits to cruise line events in Miami and Seattle with San Francisco on his itinerary in February.

“We were honoured to be asked by the Campbell River Indian Band to work with them on a project of such scope,” Duncan said.

“The cruise ship industry is very sophisticated and competitive,” he said. “We had to get started quickly on this because it’s normal for cruise lines to plan their itineraries 18-24 months in advance.

“That means that in order to have success, we need to get engaged with industry leaders as soon as possible in order that we can pursue and secure port calls for 2010 and beyond.”

Duncan said that NRG would also be working locally to highlight the shore excursion program that is now offered to the cruise ship passengers. He said that it was important to know how many passengers could be accommodated in one day, what types of products are available and the costs associated with them.