Brittany Ferries has confirmed that passengers are up 4pc in 2017 following the end of the season with the last sailing of the year by the Pont-Aven.
It said it had built on the success of 2016 when numbers were up by 3pc. The cruise-ferry operator carried more than 87,000 passengers this year and ended the season strongly with 4,100 passengers and 1,157 cars on the last two sailings of the season.
“The last three or four years have been very good – not just for Brittany Ferries but in shipping and across the board in tourism generally,” Brittany Ferries’ General Manager, Hugh Bruton, told Travel Extra. “We are getting more people in the off-season as well as the high season which is always very busy, and that’s a bonus for us. The shoulder season in April, May and September were absolutely busier than last year which was a good year in itself. That’s why we’re up about 4pc on the year. It’s all positive at the moment.”
The number of French passengers travelling with the cruise-ferry operator continued to grow, with nearly 45,000 using the route this year – or 52pc of all passengers between the two countries. Mr Bruton said that many of the inbound passengers are availing of packages, with the Wild Atlantic Way in particular proving a draw.
He added: “We look forward to building on the success of 2017 and welcoming new and returning passengers in 2018, in what will be the 40th anniversary of our Cork-Roscoff route.”
Earlier this year, Brittany Ferries announced a £175m investment in a new LNG-powered ferry called Honfleur, which will operate on the Portsmouth-Caen route. Due to be delivered in 2019, she will come with an innovative fuel delivery and storage system to help navigate a way around the absence of LNG storage in ports. The company is already offering 15pc early booking discounts for next year’s season on www.brittanyferries.ie/holidays.
