Two Channel Islands ferry companies 'unworkable'

Guernsey's government announced it had chosen Brittany Ferries on Wednesday

A tourism group has described the prospect of two separate ferry companies serving the Channel Islands as "unworkable".

Guernsey's government announced on Wednesday that it had chosen Brittany Ferries as its preferred bidder to operate its lifeline sea links for the next 15 years.

The Government of Jersey is yet to decide which company will operate its ferry services, either Brittany or Danish firm DFDS.

Simon De La Rue from the Guernsey Tourism Partnership (GTP) said the lack of certainty has left the industry in "no man's land" and urged Jersey's government to make a decision.

The GTP represents the interests of a large part of Guernsey's non-hotel tourist industry.

Mr De La Rue said Guernsey's decision to back Brittany Ferries had removed some of the uncertainty causing people to book holidays elsewhere.

"Aligning with a French-owned operator works well with our aspirations for developing the Paris market," he said.

"At the same time, we are concerned that the prospect of two separate ferry companies serving the islands would be quite unworkable and urge the parties to reach a swift conclusion and award the contract."

"Whether or not the two operators can work together if that is the case, who knows.

"Economies of scale means it could be quite challenging."

Jersey's government is yet to announce if it has chosen Danish firm DFDS or Guernsey's choice of Brittany Ferries

Grant Miller, the chairman of UK-based travel agent Preston Holidays said the decision should have been made weeks ago.

"The delays are affecting our business as it is the entire hospitality sector, with people not being able to book any further than March 2025," he said.

"We have no operator in Jersey, no schedules and no prices."

Mr Miller said it would be better for the islands to have the same ferry operator.

"I think it would be difficult, we don't know what routes they would operate or if there is the capacity for ports in the UK for two operators," he said.

'Open for business'

Hannah Beacom, chair of the Guernsey's Tourism Management Board said the decision means the island is now "open for business".

"Of course, the devil is going to be in the details, the timetables, how reliable will the service be and can they improve on their communications both in the trade and to their passengers," she said.

"I would like to see a robust service level agreement, so it's not simply, you may operate, but there's actually a good agreement on the frequency and reliability of the service and the customer care."

Ms Beacom added there could be difficulties if Jersey does not follow Guernsey in choosing Brittany Ferries.

"The real difficulty would be who would run the interisland service, if at all because I understand that is not the biggest money maker," she said.

'Sleepless nights'

Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development unanimously selected Brittany Ferries.

Committee president Neil Inder said the decision was "immovable" no matter what Jersey decides.

"If we do diverge I think that will be a massive disappointment for both the islands, but that will be a decision Jersey makes within its best interests," Inder said.

"We've made the decision in the best interests of our island based on the information in front of us."

Deputy Inder said he agreed with Jersey's Deputy Kirsten Morel that the decision must not affect the inter-island links.

Inder added: "I have found this very difficult, I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me as this is my job, but this is the only thing that has really given me sleepless nights."