Guernsey overtakes Jersey as the most popular Channel Island for sea travel from the UK
- Guernsey has captured 55% of ferry passengers from the UK to the Channel Islands between April and October.
- Market share increased to 57% for October in favour of Guernsey over Jersey.
- Passenger numbers from Portsmouth and Poole to Guernsey rose significantly compared to Jersey.
- Brittany Ferries reported transporting 36,472 more passengers to Guernsey from Saint Malo this year.
- Chief Executive Christophe Mathieu emphasises the growth and future plans to enhance services.
The latest data from IRN Ferry indicates that Guernsey has emerged as the leading Channel Island for ferry travel from the UK, surpassing Jersey for the first time.
Between April and October 2025, Guernsey secured 55% of ferry passengers, amounting to 112,255 travellers from Portsmouth and Poole, compared to 92,023 passengers heading to Jersey.
The increased market share became even more pronounced in October, when Guernsey captured 57% of the ferry market, leading Jersey, which held the remaining 43%.
This trend is attributed to the successful operation of Brittany Ferries, which reported a substantial rise in overall passenger numbers to Guernsey since the beginning of its new contract with the States in April.
Brittany Ferries experienced a robust performance on its routes from Saint Malo to Guernsey, transporting 99,325 passengers during the same April to October period, marking an increase of 36,472 passengers compared to the previous year.
Christophe Mathieu, Chief Executive of Brittany Ferries, said: “We have seen a fantastic first summer and a consistent growth over the full seven months, which is all the more remarkable when you consider the respective populations of both Islands.
"For the Bailiwick of Guernsey to have welcomed well over half of all UK visitors by sea to the Channel Islands, is a credit to everyone involved.”
Mathieu expressed excitement about future initiatives, highlighting efforts to enhance inter-island connectivity through collaboration with local ferry operators for better service integration.
He concluded, “After a successful first season, we are excited to look ahead and see how we can make our services even better.”
IRN Ferry is a standalone ferry market research company. It receives traffic data from all UK ferry companies, generating monthly and annual reports that are issued to the operators.
In numbers:
UK to Channel Islands
April to October 2025
Brittany Ferries
Poole & Portsmouth to Guernsey
112,255
55%
DFDS
Poole & Portsmouth to Jersey
92,023
45%
Total UK-Channel Islands: 204,278
Comments ()