Abstract
Since reaching its low-water mark in 2005, the overseas ferry and tunnel market has enjoyed two consecutive years of modest volume growth to reach an estimated 13.3 million overseas trips made by Britons in 2007. The word recovery is on everyone' s lips in the industry.
But despite the success of Eurostar in winning the market share battle on the London-Paris and London-Brussels routes, our clamour for holidays overseas is still catered for almost entirely by aviation. Green concerns, rising taxes and security chaos loom large on the horizon for short-haul air carriers. But for the moment, APD increases or environmental altruism alone isn' t going to convert consumers to going underground or on deck.
However, with aviation increasingly commoditised, and designed to remove any ' experience' from the fact that passengers are travelling at 20,000 feet, sea and tunnel modes are ripe for rendering ' A to B' as part of the holiday.
This report provides an overview of the ferry and tunnel crossings market, investigating the core market factors, strengths and weaknesses, supply and consumer dynamics and likely future trends.
Main issues:
How competitive is the ferry/tunnel market compared to flying in terms of journey times, destinations, price, luggage allowance and green credentials?
Why is the market now enjoying a period of relative recovery?
Can this be sustained and if so how?
Who uses ferries and tunnel crossings?
What are their attitudes towards these modes of travel?
What do short-haul travellers regard as the most important factors in deciding how to travel?
What is the image of ferry/tunnel travel like and how can it be improved?
Should operators focus primarily on price, or is premiumisation the key to revenue growth?
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