Latest figures show that the Port of Dover has made major progress towards recapturing its pre-pandemic tourist business this summer.

The Port’s busiest time of year, mid-July to the first weekend in September, welcomed more than 1.7m passengers during this year’s summer season – over half the full-year total for 2021.

Furthermore, Dover handled more cars than during the whole of last year. More than 400,000 cars passed through the Port this summer, compared with a little over 336,000 throughout 2021.

Doug Bannister, chief executive officer, Port of Dover, says: “Dover has always been a key holiday gateway for British families, and we are very pleased with the strength of the recovery we have seen in tourist traffic.

“Whilst post-pandemic numbers were expected to show a significant increase on last year, these latest figures are very encouraging and it has been a pleasure to see so many leisure travellers choosing the Straits of Dover once again.”

The Port of Dover is the busiest international ferry port in the UK, with two million cars and 11 million passengers passing through every year, prior to the pandemic. In addition, the Port handles 2.4 million trucks per year, more than all other UK ports combined.

Prior to the start of the summer season, Port of Dover unveiled a series of steps designed to speed the movement of traffic through the port. These included a 50 per cent increase in interim French border control booths and the repositioning of internal traffic routes to improve vehicle flow. In addition, enhanced amenities including refreshment and toilet facilities were made available, together with an expanded team of ‘passenger champions’ to look after people’s needs while they waited to board their ferries.

Bannister adds: “Following the introduction of more time-consuming post-Brexit border checks, and in readiness for the summer season, we brought in a series of interim measures designed to manage increased traffic flow around the port during this first major post-pandemic summer getaway. Broadly, they have worked very well. The challenges we saw in Dover on the first weekend of the summer season were swiftly resolved and have not recurred.

“I would like to thank all our staff, our ferry operators and partners, P&O Ferries, DFDS and Irish Ferries and, of course the travelling public for making this summer season such an overall success.”

Karen Baurdoux, Passenger Performance Manager, DFDS, adds: “With passenger numbers hit hard by the pandemic over the last couple of years, it has been great to see customers heading back to Dover and crossing the Channel with DFDS. We are proud of our staff, both on our ships and ashore, who have welcomed back our customers and have delivered great customer experience across the high season”

Peter Hebblethwaite, Chief Executive of P&O Ferries, adds: “We have welcomed hundreds of thousands of tourist customers back to our ships this summer to see for themselves the unrivalled passenger experience on board a P&O ferry between Dover and Calais. In a world changed by Brexit and the pandemic, travel is entering a new era and ferries are perfectly positioned to offer a more relaxed and enjoyable way to travel, leading the revival of duty free, and providing vitally important trade routes for UK exporters and trading partners.”

Nora Costello, Marketing Director, Irish Ferries, adds: “As we started operations on Dover–Calais at the tail end of the pandemic, we’re delighted to see the increase in passenger and vehicle volumes using Port of Dover over the course of Summer ’22. This helped us to deliver our three-ship schedule as expected, and feedback from passengers shows their enthusiasm for the quality service we’re now offering on our Dover–Calais route.”