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Business and tourism leaders are welcoming the opportunities that Guernsey's 2025 ferry schedules could offer for working with France, but both have also highlighted the continued uncertainty it brings, especially around inter-island connections.
Brittany Ferries unveiled details of the summer sailing schedule between Guernsey, the UK and France on Friday.
The high speed Condor Voyager will operate a St Malo-Guernsey-Poole-Guernsey-St Malo rotation daily in the high season and three times a week off-peak.
Condor Islander will run a freight and passenger service six days a week from Portsmouth.
The Liberation and freight vessel the Goodwill no longer feature on Guernsey routes while Condor Clipper will operate back-up services when needed.
Pictured: The contract should be signed tomorrow with bookings then enabled from 17:00.
There will be a once a week service between Guernsey and Jersey under this contract but that could change when Jersey agrees on its ferry provider - with a decision now expected next week.
Despite that uncertainty, the Chamber of Commerce has said there are many "excellent opportunities" for Guernsey through its published ferry timetable for summer '25.
"Since Guernsey publicised its decision last month, we have had to opportunity to meet with government and challenge the decisions and challenge the tender process on an arm's length basis," said the President of Guernsey Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Rouxel.
“The new schedule, assuming Jersey does not select Brittany ferries next week, this presents an excellent opportunity to strengthen our connections with our French neighbours, enhancing both tourism and trade while expanding the import of food and other goods from France. We have already met with our Chamber counterparts in St. Malo to proactively seize these opportunities and ensure we maximise the benefits this schedule can bring.
"While we see significant potential in this new arrangement and are committed to supporting our members through the transition, we remain concerned about the challenges it introduces. These include the loss of economies of scale, added complexity for freight logistics, and the current absence of an inter-island service. Despite these issues, we are committed to collaboration and working together to make this transition a success for our community.”
Hannah Beacom, Chair of Guernsey's Tourism Management Board, agrees that the 2025 summer ferry contract has given the hospitality sector some certainty, but the lack of a regular inter-island service is a concern.
"We welcome the publication of the schedule for Guernsey’s ferry services, and this helps to give us the certainty the industry has been waiting for," she said.
"It means we can begin to sell tickets, firm up bookings, and send a message that Guernsey is open for business. The schedule has some real positives, including the frequency and timings of sailings for French visitors to the island, which will give us the opportunity to grow that market both for long-stays and day-trips. Of course, there’s still some uncertainty as we await a decision in Jersey. But we need to move forward with what we know we have in place for now, which offers some real opportunities for the tourism industry. The TMB has engaged with the States, Brittany Ferries, and other industry stakeholders over the last few weeks, so we’ve got some good relationships there and everyone is focused on making this schedule a real success."
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