Associated British Ports is proud to be supporting Discover Ferries’ National Ferry Fortnight (NFF), which runs from March 2-15.
More than 1.3 million ferry passengers passed through ABP ports in 2014 to destinations in France, Ireland, Spain, Holland and the Isle of Wight.
As well as facilitating international trade, ABP’s ports are also gateways for passengers looking to travel to and from the UK on ferries, with four of our 21 ports offering passenger ferry services.
From ABP Plymouth on the south west coast of England, Brittany Ferries serves passengers looking to travel in style and luxury to Roscoff in Northern France, as well as St Malo in the winter months and Santander in Northern Spain. On the east coast of England, P&O Ferries operate passenger services to the near continent cities of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge from ABP Hull (UK City of Culture 2017), whilst on the west coast of Scotland P&O operate a daily passenger service from ABP Troon to Larne in Northern Ireland. From ABP Southampton on the south coast of England, Red Funnel operate ferry services to the Isle of Wight.
Figures released by Discover Ferries at the start of this year showed that UK ferry passenger numbers increased by 1 million between 2013 and 2014.
The theme of this year’s NFF campaign is ‘Ferry Freedom’, highlighting the exciting choice of destinations available to passengers travelling by foot, bicycle, car, caravan or coach, with more than 75 direct ferry routes available from the UK.
The ferry operator members of Discover Ferries – including those running passenger services out of ABP’s ports – are providing special offers to celebrate NFF, details of which can be found on Discover Ferries’ NFF campaign page – www.discoverferries.com
Jens Nielsen, ABP Commercial Director, said: “Ferry travel is not only an important part of our business but a favourite route to the continent for holiday travellers and a vital link for businesses as well.
“We are proud to be part of Discover Ferries and to support National Ferry Fortnight. It’s great to have the opportunity to celebrate such an important industry.”
About ABP
ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator with 21 ports and other transport related businesses creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.
ABP’s Port of Southampton is the cruise capital of the UK, serving more than 1 million passengers each year.
ABP also has four outstanding, modern marinas at its ports of Southampton, Ipswich, Lowestoft and Fleetwood.
ABP contributes £5.6 billion to the UK economy every year and supports 84, 000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to deliver an extra £1.75 billion for the economy every year.
Over the next five years, ABP is investing over £650 million in a wide range of major projects across the group.
www.abports.co.uk
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About Discover Ferries
Discover Ferries is a promotional campaign to increase the awareness and profile of travel by ferry to the continent, Ireland and around the UK.
Thirteen major ferry companies belong to the campaign, as well as associate members such as ABP. Direct Ferries’ activities include roundtables with high profile media, press office activity, promotion of www.discoverferries.com, submitting regular press releases highlighting reasons to travel by ferry, and the highly successful and well-established National Ferry Fortnight.
