UK ferry bookings jumped by almost a quarter in January over the same month last year, new figures from ferry comparison site Direct Ferries show.
Early indicators show that many people plan to stay closer to home in 2016 with the most popular routes from the UK to France, Ireland and Spain seeing a significant increase in bookings when compared to 2015.
Overall bookings last month rose by 23% year-on-year according to the company.
Sales and marketing director, Andrew Crowe, said: “It is great news that we have witnessed an increase in direct bookings of over 20% at the start of this year, despite general industry figures showing a very slight decrease in UK passenger numbers in 2015.
“It seems that many Brits are planning to stay in Europe in the coming months, rather than travelling further afield.
“France in particular is expected to see an impressive uptake this year, with tens of thousands of Britons from across England, Northern Ireland and Wales planning to travel to UEFA Euros 2016 in June and July.”
Travellers from the rest of Europe are also travelling more by ferry with bookings increasing by 33%. Global bookings for routes across the rest of the world also rose.