Take the Family: Ferry travel popular due to reduced cost

An increased desire in taking holidays closer to home and reducing costs means that more people may choose car and ferry holidays over air travel, Lucy Ace of Take the Family has said.

She also commented that travelling by ferry, whether on a short jouney or cheap cruise, is always an exciting option for children, as it gives them a different type of holiday experience.

The popularity of ferry and cruise travel is a trend that figures released by the Shipping Times suggest has been creeping up on us for a while.

It reported on April 12th 2007 that last year Dover Ferry Port saw an Easter holiday boom.

During the four-day holiday more than 235,000 passengers passed through the Port of Dover. Furthermore, figures released by Dover Harbour Board at this time showed this was seven per cent more than the 2006 holiday weekend.

Holidaymakers' enthusiasm for the ferry was not just felt on this side of the channel. Ports in Calais, Dunkerque and Boulogne also reported growth in traffic.

During the Easter weekend over 38,000 cars and 2,500 coaches travelled with P&O Ferries, SeaFrance, Norfolkline and SpeedFerries.

Even lorries were getting in on the act, with 10,000 of these vehicles passing through Dover on what is normally a quiet weekend for the haulage business.

Lucy Ace, managing director of holiday advice service Take the Family, said: "We have seen an increase in holidays closer to home and I think many people will choose car and ferry over air travel to reduce costs."

She added: "My children are always so excited about the prospect of a holiday that it really wouldn't matter how we got there, but the ferry is definitely an exciting option for them."

As well as being a family-friendly, cost-effective mode of transport, travelling by ferry is also thought to be good for the environment, in comparison with planes.

In November last year, travelsupermarket.com commissioned The Green Travel Index, which researched consumers' views on leisure travel, its impact on the environment and the extent to which green issues have and will determine future holiday habits.

The index found that those aged between 25 and 34 were the most environmentally-aware and more likely to change their holidaying habits accordingly, compared with other age groups.

On the whole, women were more concerned about the impact of their holidays on the environment, while those over 55 were least aware of their carbon footprint and as a result not as likely to feel guilty about flying.