Brittany Ferries is seeing more Spanish people travel with it to Ireland than to the UK.
This is despite there only being a commercial sea link connecting Ireland to Spain in operation for 5 years, while services have been running from Spain to the UK for 45 years.
Nearly twice as many Spaniards travelled to Ireland by ferry last year, just under 6,000, compared with 3,400 holidaying in the UK.
Brittany Ferries says the news is evidence that the Celtic connection is alive and well. Furthermore, Spain is a rich seam for inbound tourism, to be nurtured with Tourism Ireland in the years ahead.
Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Southern Europe, said: “Tourism Ireland welcomes the strong number of passengers travelling from Spain to Ireland with Brittany Ferries in 2023. In 2024, we aim to increase the value of overseas tourism to Ireland, sustainably supporting economies, communities and the environment. We will do so by inspiring overseas visitors and strengthening strategic partnerships. Working with our ferry partners is a key part of our strategy to encourage visitors to stay longer and travel around our regions. We already work very closely with Brittany Ferries and we look forward to continuing to co-operate with them to maximise the promotion of their services from Spain and France. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct access cannot be overstated – it is absolutely critical to growing the value of overseas tourism.”
