UK. Eurotunnel’s Victor Hugo passenger terminal in Folkestone opened yesterday, offering 5,000sq m of newly refurbished space. Some ten million passengers a year now take the 30-minute Le Shuttle crossing to Calais, France.
Eurotunnel worked with retail concessionaire World Duty Free Group to ensure that the terminal would “match the highest international airport standards”. Eurotunnel has invested €1 million in the upgrade and anticipates a resulting increase in sales of up to +30%.
The offer now includes a wider range of wines, spirits, fragrances and luxury goods, as well as a Travelex bureau de change, a WHSmith outlet selling newspapers, books and magazines, and a food court.
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Eurotunnel is hoping for a +30% rise in sales at the renovated terminal |
The name “˜Victor Hugo Terminal’ was chosen to identify the building as a “gateway to France”, and Eurotunnel is expecting it to get busier. “Customer satisfaction is vital to Eurotunnel and the upgrades we are making to our passenger terminals in both Folkestone and Coquelles are an essential part of our programme of continuous improvements,” Eurotunnel Commercial Director Jo Willacy told The Moodie Report. “These investments are a sign of our confidence in the future of the cross-channel self drive market.”
Willacy added: “We want the 10 million passengers who use Le Shuttle each year to have everything they need when they travel with us. I think that this upgrade puts us on a par with the best international airports.”
Facilities have also been upgraded to improve access for disabled passengers, and the building has been made more efficient in terms of water and energy consumption.
