Sea passenger statistics, all routes: 2023
Sea passenger statistics for movements to and from the UK on international and domestic journeys in 2023.
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Annual statistics on the number of sea passengers which include all vehicle drivers, their passengers and foot passengers on ferries and cruise ships.
For international passengers in 2023:
- the total number of international short sea passengers (on ferry routes) grew by 24% to 15.1 million compared to 2022, however it remained 18% below 2019 levels
- cruise passengers increased to 3 million in 2023. This is a 52% increase from 2 million in 2022 and a 39% increase from 2.2 million in 2019
For domestic passengers in 2023:
- the total number of passengers on domestic sea crossings increased by 3% to 3.8 million compared to 2022 and 9% compared to 2019 levels
- inter-island passenger figures increased by 2% from the previous year, however numbers remained 14% lower than in 2019
- the number of passengers on river ferries were at a similar level to 2022 and it was 10% lower than in 2019
Guidance on current and previous sea passenger statistics are available.
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Sea passenger statistics
Email sea-passenger.stats@dft.gov.uk
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