More passengers sailed from the UK to Jersey last month than August 2024, which the Government said was ‘encouraging’ and a sign that ferry operator DFDS’s initial ‘challenges’ were behind it.
New figures reveal that the Danish carrier brought 4% more travellers to Jersey via Portsmouth and Poole this August compared to last, when Condor ran the route.
Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel, who co-signed the agreement with DFDS last December, said he was “particularly pleased” to note the year-on-year increase, especially when comparing the situation with a decade ago.
In a letter to Scrutiny, published this week, Deputy Morel wrote: “It would be very easy to underestimate the challenges that any new ferry operator would face mobilising these services in around three months.
“One only has to look back at the problematic introduction of Condor Liberation in 2015 and associated changes to fleet and ports of call to see that, during 2015 and 2016, Jersey’s sea arrivals fell by over 100,000 passengers and continued in decline through to the onset of the pandemic.
“The inherent weaknesses of the previous operating agreement also limited actions that could be taken when Condor presented and went on to implement non-compliant sailing schedules.”
Referring to DFDS’s introduction to Jersey in March, after a protracted and delayed tendering process, he said: “The short mobilisation period clearly limited the window available for advance marketing of the summer timetables and for DFDS to develop packaged break solutions as they have now gone on to do with companies such as Preston Holidays.
“DFDS is committed to £2m annual of marketing spend to promote routes to and from Jersey and so I expect a much stronger and better coordinated joint marketing effort between DFDS and Visit Jersey for 2026 given that increased visitor numbers is a shared outcome.”
Deputy Morel added: “DFDS has also faced some ‘hard product’ challenges, for example, lift access on Levante Jet, delayed opening of duty-free shop etc.
“Some have been resolved in these opening months and continued work will take place during the winter period as vessels go into dry-dock for scheduled maintenance.
“More widely in terms of funding support for Visit Jersey, I have committed £2m of additional funding in 2025 from the Better Business Support Package together with a further £1m for air route development: this will be repeated in 2026.”
Deputy Morel also defended DFDS’s decision to stop high-speed services to Poole this winter and limit sailings to the conventional Stena Vinga, with only some fast services at Christmas and Easter.
He said: “The cost of running the northern high-speed craft during the winter months is estimated at around £1m per month meaning – using the 2024 data – a cost of over £860 per passenger, most of whom will not be visitors.
“This significant difference between ticket prices and actual costs would inevitably have to be met by higher ticket prices for all travellers throughout the year.”
The 4% increase on sea passengers from the UK last month is a piece of good news amid less positive figures for tourism.
Between January and June this year, there was a 16% decline in total visits to the Island compared to the same period last year. Overnight leisure visits were 28% down.