Just six months after it took over the contract to run services between Guernsey, France, and the UK, Brittany Ferries says it has carried almost a third more passengers than travelled during the same period a year ago.
Based on passenger numbers for April to August, Brittany Ferries said an additional 38,522 people travelled on a sailing this year – up 29% on 2024, when Condor Ferries was running the services as part of a contract including stops in Jersey.
Now owned outright by Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries is only linked with Guernsey’s sailings – while Jersey went with DFDS after the pan-island ferry contract negotiations broke down late last year.
Now, Brittany Ferries says it has seen “notable growth” on the Guernsey/St Malo sailings, where traffic is up by 59% and Guernsey’s share of the Channel Islands’ market has risen to more than 40% compared with just a fifth in 2024.
This latest passenger statistic announcement follows previous positive reports from Brittany Ferries since the new contract was enacted too.
In February, before it started operating the sailings under the new regime, Brittany Ferries was already citing an increase in bookings.
An announcement coinciding with the start of the new ferry services also showed a continued increase in bookings.
Visitor statistics released by the States of Guernsey earlier in the summer also showed an increase in people travelling across from France.
“It is fantastic to see this improvement compared to last year and encouraging that the growth has been consistent across the whole of this summer,” said Christophe Mathieu, Chief Executive of Brittany Ferries.
“The anticipated rise in visitor numbers – along with longer stays – is delivering clear economic benefits, not just for Guernsey but for the wider Bailiwick.
“Our new direct schedule, with improved timings and more frequent sailings, have been well received by our customers and we are grateful for the support of Visit Guernsey in jointly marketing the Bailiwick.”
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, President of the Committee for Economic Development, agreed that “it is incredibly positive to see such strong growth in ferry passengers across all routes”.
“This is not only very good news for Guernsey’s tourism industry, but it also has had, and will have, positive impacts on a variety of other sectors and the wider Bailiwick,” she said.
“The Committee for Economic Development is very keen to develop stronger links with Brittany and France and we will be looking at a number of different opportunities in this area, from trade and food imports to continuing to build on the new success we are seeing in the tourism market. This week, I am travelling to St Malo for a number of meetings to kick-start some of this work, and I am excited to see what comes of it.”