FerryBrittany Ferries has recorded strong growth in passenger traffic to Guernsey this summer, with combined UK and French numbers rising by 28.9% between April and August compared with the same period last year. The uplift has been driven by significant gains across all routes, including a 59.2% increase in sailings from St Malo and a 20.6% rise in UK-Guernsey travel in August alone. A mix of day trips and longer stays is delivering a clear boost to tourism, with improved frequency, direct routings and joint marketing with Visit Guernsey credited for the success.
Just six months into its new 15-year contract with the States of Guernsey,Brittany Ferries has confirmed that almost a third more passengers havetravelled to and from the Bailiwick compared to the same period in 2024.
Latest figures show that passenger carryings on the company’s direct services from Poole,Portsmouth and St Malo combined, for the period 1 April to 31 August, are up by 38,522 – anincrease of 28.9% compared with last year.The most notable growth is from St Malo, wheretraffic is up by 59.2% and Guernsey’s share of the Channel Islands’ market has risen to morethan 40% compared with just a fifth in 2024.
Christophe Mathieu, Chief Executive of Brittany Ferries, commented:
“It is fantastic to see this improvement compared to last year and encouraging that thegrowth has been consistent across the whole of this summer. The anticipated rise in visitornumbers – along with longer stays – is delivering clear economic benefits, not just forGuernsey but for the wider Bailiwick.
“Our new direct schedule, with improved timings and more frequent sailings, have beenwell received by our customers and we are grateful for the support of Visit Guernsey injointly marketing the Bailiwick.”
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, President of the Committee for Economic Development,said:
“It is incredibly positive to see such strong growth in ferry passengers across all routes,bringing more than 38,500 visitors to Guernsey, with a particularly large uplift in thenumber of people travelling to and from St Malo. This is not only very good news forGuernsey’s tourism industry, but it also has had, and will have, positive impacts on a
variety of other sectors and the wider Bailiwick.
The Committee for Economic Development is very keen to develop stronger links withBrittany and France and we will be looking at a number of different opportunities in thisarea, from trade and food imports to continuing to build on the new success we are seeingin the tourism market. This week, I am travelling to St Malo for a number of meetings tokick-start some of this work, and I am excited to see what comes of it.”
M. Mathieu added:“It is clear that more and more visitors are opting for sea travel as partof their holiday experience.“To help with forward planning by passengers and our trade partners, an almost identicalschedule for next year was launched back in July and is available up to 2 November2026.”
