Ferries bite back as travel share rises

FERRY travel is on the increase as people become disgruntled with air travel.

The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has said aggressive marketing and promotional campaigns by the major sea carriers, combined with delays at airports because of ongoing security threats may be weaning passengers back to car ferries.

Director of the IMDO Glenn Murphy said: “There is renewed optimism in the ferry sector. Over the last 10 years the industry has lost almost 1.1 million passengers but things seems to be changing. People, especially families, are using ferries instead of planes to avoid delays at airports and having to pay for extra baggage.