French tourists are set to pour into Sussex after a new ferry link was set up to the continent.

A new daily summer crossing between Newhaven and Le Havre will operate from May 1 to September 30.

The new line was added because the popularity of travelling by ferry is increasing.

Now tourism bosses believe the extra crossings will attract tens of thousands of French visitors to the region.

The three daily crossings between Newhaven and Dieppe was used by 250,000 people last year and the service provider, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, expects the figure to increase by 50,000 in 2007.

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs took over the crossings from the French regional government on March 3 after the EU ruled a publicly-owned ferry company conflicted with competition laws.

The service was operated by Transmanche Ferries which was set up by a French syndicate to promote the Dieppe-Newhaven link.

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs will be paid by the French regional government £14.6 million euros a year to subsidise the service on the condition that it maintains two daily winter crossings and three summer crossings between Dieppe and Newhaven.

Company spokesman Claude Sokolski said: "We will introduce the service for the summer and see how many people use it.

"In the South East there are people with homes in Brittany, Normandy and surrounding areas who will take advantage of the crossing.

"It will increase tourism and business links between France and England.

"Our market research suggests everyone in Newhaven and Le Havre is excited by the link."

Transmanche Ferries and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs have now become sister companies.

The ferry operator expects people to use the new link because Newhaven is the closest British tourism port to London and Le Havre has a good road and rail network to Paris and the northern and southern regions.

80% of people who use the link between Newhaven and Dieppe are English but Mr Sokolski expects more French to use the new crossing.

He said: "To date there is not a lot of French people using the crossing because the value of the pound is expensive compared to euros.

"We hope this will change because Le Havre is the largest French port on the Western channel coast and is very popular."

Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex County Councils welcomed the boost to the local economy the new link will bring.

Adam Bates, Brighton council's head of tourism, said: "It is great news.

"The more accessible we are and the more opportunity people have to come to the area the better.

"There will also be more competition for crossings to France which should drive prices down for passengers."

Simon Kirby, East Sussex's cabinet member for economic development, said: "I'm really excited.

"The residents and businesses of East Sussex have another route to France which gives them more choice when buying crossing tickets.

"Tourism is a major source of income for Brighton and Hove and East Sussex and the more links to the region the better."

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