Member Article

Football draws ferry passengers to the North East

Supporters of Newcastle United are not the only ones celebrating their teams’ run of success this season, as DFDS Seaways has witnessed a marked increase in fans using their routes to attend games.

DFDS Seaways have seen a 16% year on year increase in Dutch and German passengers who use the Newcastle to Amsterdam route to watch games. By the end of the 2011/2012 season this is expected increase by more than 30%.

John Crummie, passenger director for DFDS Seaways North Sea routes says: “Newcastle and Sunderland games are extremely popular for Dutch and German visitors.

“Last season more than 6,000 used the route to attend football games in the North East and we expect this figure to have almost doubled by the close of the current season.

“These results highlight the Newcastle-Amsterdam route as a convenient and affordable connection between the North East and northern Europe.”

To accommodate their new clientele, DFDS Seaays ahs also developed packages which include return ferry travel and tickets to Newcastle or Sunderland games. High profile matches have attracted particular interest with the Newcastle v Manchester United in January 2012 accounting for more than 10% of DFDS Seaways football tickets sold.

The link has become so strong that the DFDS Sales team constantly monitor match results to forecast sales levels. They have recently begun monitoring Middlesbrough’s progress as a promotion to the Premier League may be the result they are looking for to introduce packages to the Riverside.

John Crummie added: “Football is an important part of the North East’s tourism offering. With St James’ Park due to host international matches as part of The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games we expect to bring even more European fans to the region – we’ve got our fingers crossed that a European team is announced in the draw.”

In the past 12 months more than 600,000 passengers have come through the International Passenger Terminal at the Port of Tyne and are worth £44million to the local economy.

Andrew Moffat, Chief Executive of the Port of Tyne, said: “The ferry and cruise business makes a very significant contribution to the region’s economy.

“We are pleased to be working with DFDS and our other partners to promote the many exciting visitor attractions - including top class football - to ensure that we continue to be able to welcome people into the region.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .

Our Partners