Brittany Ferries has confirmed the introduction of a more tourism-oriented ship Galicia on to its Rosslare/Bilbao route from November of this year. The huge cruise-ferry is one of the newest additions to the Brittany Ferries fleet having been launched in December 2020.
Brittany Ferries has been central to the dramatic growth which has seen Rosslare Europort becoming Ireland’s leading port for direct European services over the past two years, according to the company's release.
Currently the Rosslare-Bilbao route is served by the Connemara, a predominantly freight vessel with limited facilities for holidaymakers. This befitted the company strategy of establishing freight links from Ireland to Spain. Now the route has proved a success however, attention is turning to passenger traffic.
News of the new ship for Rosslare, was announced earlier today 7th April by Brittany Ferries’ President Jean-Marc Roué, who earlier this year became Honorary Consul for Ireland in Brittany who, along with the company’s Chief Executive, Christophe Mathieu was in Rosslare to meet with the port of Rosslare executives and with local business leaders. He said that the introduction of Galicia was a further indication of the company’s long-term commitment to Ireland.
In 2019, Ireland welcomed 431,000 Spanish visitors to the island of Ireland. These visits delivered revenue of €218 million. The introduction of Galicia on the Bilbao to Rosslare route is good news; it will allow Tourism Ireland to highlight ease of access from the greater Bilbao region and to encourage holidaymakers there to come and discover Ireland by car.
The visit to Rosslare followed on from yesterday’s visit to the Port of Cork where Brittany Ferries confirmed that its twice-weekly service from Cork to France, which was launched earlier this year will become a permanent feature of the company’s sailing schedule.
Brittany Ferries set up its Rosslare – Bilbao route in February 2020. It was set up primarily as a freight route and this was reflected in the choice of Connemara with its relatively limited facilities for holidaymakers. This was at a time when Brexit was seen as having the potential to cause major disruptions for hauliers. The route has been a success in relation to freight but despite the limited facilities on board it began to attract holidaymakers who wished to take their car to Spain, as well as visitors from Northern Spain to Ireland.
Brittany Ferries was conceived in 1972, starting life as a freight-only service on 2nd January the following year. The first sailing linked Roscoff in Brittany with Plymouth in the South of England and carried a cargo of artichokes and cauliflowers. Since then the company has progressively launched, then strengthened shipping routes. Today millions of passengers and businesses transporting goods by sea across the so-called Atlantic Arc (France, UK, Spain and Ireland) rely on the links forged through six decades of operation. In addition to cutting congestion and emissions on busy roads, these motorways-of the sea have helped enrich local communities, creating jobs and nurturing international tourism.