The Ward Cove Group is a private investment company that has plans to bring a cruise ship to town. The cruise ship will be the first of its kind to land on Ketchikan's waterfront. The company estimates that it will bring more than one million passengers to town every year and create more than 1,750 direct jobs. However, the cruise ship is already causing concerns among residents of Ketchikan.
Ward Cove is located 7 miles north of Ketchikan. The city is home to a welcome center that is part of a $50 million project. Although the project was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected to resume once the pandemic has passed. The welcome center will be large enough to accommodate two cruise ships at a time. It is even designed to rise and fall with the tides in Ketchikan.