Andy Mossack on BBC News. Following the release of the latest data for the numbers of tourists using UK ferries, TripReporter’s own Managing Editor Andy Mossack appears on BBC News to comment on the changing face of the British ferry industry.
Interviewed by Victoria Fritz from BBC Business Live on top of the iconic cliffs of Dover, Andy Mossack discussed how the British ferry industry has responded to its “wake up call” in the face of stiff competition from low cost airlines and the Channel Tunnel.
in 2015, UK ferries carried nearly 39 million passengers which is marginally less than in 2014. However the popular Cover to Calais route shows passenger traffic down compared to 2014 to around 11 million. Eurotunnel traffic was also down by 1% to 20 million passengers.
“The 2015 figures show the ferry industry is resilient and adaptable” said Discover Ferries’ director Bill Gibbons, “Domestic ferry routes carried nearly 16 million passengers – their best year since 2011 and despite the summer issues at Calais last year P&O Ferries’ and DFDS operators adapted their capacity and sailings to great effect, and other continental ferry operators took up any car customers who were able to re-route. In perspective, ferry sailings to the Continent were down 8.5%, but passenger numbers in this sector only fell by 1%”.
