Total cruise passenger traf?c during the fourth quarter last year stood at 120,707, a decline of 8.7 per cent over the corresponding period in 2012. There were 92 cruise liner calls during the quarter, up from 84 in the previous year, the NSO said.

Transit passengers accounted for 93.4 per cent of total traf?c, and totalled 112,682. Around 1,085 passengers visited Gozo, while 1,682 passengers spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner.

Visitors from EU Member States accounted for 77.4 per cent of total traf? c, with the major markets being the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. Total passengers from Non-EU countries numbered 27,242, of which 42.4 per cent came from the United States. Despite the decrease in total traf? c, an increase in the British, Australian, Canadian and American markets was recorded.

On a gender basis, female passengers made up 53.1 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age bracket, followed by those aged between 40 and 59.

January-December 2013

Cruise passengers for 2013 stood at 431,397, a drop of 23.3 per cent over 2012. Of these, 76.2 per cent came from EU Member States.  Almost all EU markets recorded sharp decreases when compared to the previous year, with the exception of the British market, which advanced by 33.9 per cent. Passengers from Non-EU countries declined by 13.5 per cent to 102,680.

The majority of cruise passengers were female, totalling 229,867. Furthermore, most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, followed by those aged 40-59, totalling 168,385 and 137,789 respectively (Table 2).

There were 286 cruise liner calls during the year, 36 less than the previous year. The average number of passengers per vessel stood at 1,508, as shown in Chart 1