Princess Seaways and King Seaways carried 250,000 people between May and September 2015 alone
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Ferry operator DFDS hosted a record 580,000 passengers on its route between Newcastle, UK and Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2015.
Sister ships Princess Seaways and King Seaways carried more than a quarter of a million people between May and September last year, including almost 70,000 people in August alone.
“We’re excited to have set a new record on the Newcastle to Amsterdam service in 2015 and we’re looking forward to building on that with another record-breaking summer this year,” said Max Foster, passenger director for DFDS. “The four-month summer period is a key time, and our teams at the port and onboard work really hard to provide our guests with an enjoyable and relaxing start to their holidays.”
The steady growth in the popularity of the route has provided a boost to tourism in the north east of England, with more than 395,000 visitors from Europe and further afield using the ferry service to visit the region in 2015.
“A key element of our success is our ability to attract a diverse group of passengers to visit the North East, especially from Germany and the Netherlands,” said Foster. “These visitors play an important role in boosting the contribution of tourism to the regional economy.”
The 2015 result continues a three-year growth trend that has seen performance exceed previous record highs recorded in 2009.