More than 12,000 visitors have made their way to Guernsey from France, so far this year.
They’ve been a mix of day trippers and those staying longer with the new Brittany Ferries contract credited for bringing many of the Gallic tourists to Guernsey.
Passenger figures for the second quarter of this year shows 5,000 more French visitors have travelled across when compared to April-June in 2024.
Last spring there were around 7,000 French tourists visiting, with the 74% increase being hailed as a positive by the States’ Economic Development committee and the Tourist Management Board.
“The April to June period is a strong indicator of what we can expect to see during the rest of the tourist season, and there is clearly some very positive news to gleam from this latest data,” said Hannah Beacom, Chair of the Tourism Management Board.
“The Board welcomes the significant rise in visitors from France – a huge benefit from the deal struck between Brittany Ferries and the Committee for Economic Development. I’ve personally noticed a far greater prevalence in French being spoken around St Peter Port and in other tourism hotspots within the island, which is wonderful to hear as we continue to build stronger ties with our French neighbours.”
However, despite the increase in French tourists travelling to Guernsey by ferry for day trips the island’s overall visitor numbers have remained fairly static, year on year when it comes to those staying for one night or more.
Those visitors are seen as crucial to the hospitality sector as they are spending in hotels and restaurants while here.
Between April and June this year, 58,204 people came to Guernsey by either plane or ferry and then stayed for at least one night.
That is “broadly unchanged from Q2 2024” and is 9% higher than Q2 2023.
Those staying for at least one night are mainly here for ‘leisure purposes’ (52%) or to see friends/family (28%). 12% travelled here for business and 8% for other reasons.