The most notable rise in ferry passengers continues to be on the St Malo route, where numbers increased by 38% in July (an increase of 4,571 people) and are up 59% year-on-year. This growth is largely attributed to Brittany Ferries’ revised schedule, which now includes convenient day-trip sailings from St Malo, along with enhanced promotional efforts by VisitGuernsey across Brittany and Normandy.

Visitor numbers travelling from Poole dropped from 16,725 to 15,366 from July 2024 to 2025 – a decrease of 1,359 passengers, or just over 8%. The decline is largely attributed to the removal of day trip options.

As expected, the launch of the Islands Unlimited service on 5 June, which provides daily sailings between Guernsey and Jersey, continues to boost figures on the Jersey route, with an increase of 21% - 1,861 people – using the route in July 2025 compared to 2024. As mentioned last month, the year-on-year comparison is still down, due to a limited service between the islands earlier in the year, but we expect to recover some of this over the next quarter.

Meanwhile, efforts continue behind the scenes to grow cruise tourism. Sixty-five cruise ships are scheduled to visit this summer, and discussions are ongoing with several major operators to attract larger vessels and boost passenger volumes from 2026 onwards.

The above factors mean that overall, ferry passenger numbers rose by 13% in July, bringing an additional 5,534 visitors to the island compared to the same month in 2024. This growth strengthens the year-on-year figures, which now show an 8% increase - equivalent to 12,845 more passengers.