03/03/2004

NI holidaymakers using ferry service on the up

More holidaymakers from Northern Ireland are loading up their cars and heading off to Europe by ferry, according to leading ferry company Stena Line.

Already this year, bookings for travel up to the end of 2004 from Stena Line's four Irish ports at Belfast, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin Port and Rosslare to a choice of European destinations via Britain are up by almost 28% on last year.

Commenting on the figures, Stena Line Head of Marketing, Paul Grant said: "We are delighted to report an increase of 28% in NI advance bookings across our four Irish Sea routes and onwards to Europe.

"Increasingly, more people want to take their car on holiday as it makes life so much easier in terms of transporting luggage and also lets our customers avoid the expense of car hire at their destination."

Stena Line statistics show that 80% of Northern Ireland passengers travelling via the UK to Europe went to France last year.

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