There were 115 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2017, seven more than last year, the National Statistics office reports.

At 78.6 per cent, transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 143,918.

A total of 4,179 passengers visited Gozo, while 14,517 passengers spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner. On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 1,593 passengers, 263 less than last year.

Visitors from EU Member States comprised 74.0 per cent of total traffic, the major markets being the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France. The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 47,580, of whom 39.4 per cent came from the United States.

On a gender basis, female passengers made up 53.6 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59.

 

January-June 2017

During the first half of the year, total cruise passengers stood at 268,358, a rise of 11.9 per cent over

2016. Of these, 72.1 per cent came from EU Member States. The biggest increase was recorded from the British market, which advanced by 26,081 passengers.

Female passengers numbered 143,313 and were in the majority. Most passengers were between 60

and 79 years old, amounting to 110,921. These were followed by passengers aged 40-59, reaching

81,568.

There were 149 cruise liner calls during the first six months, with an average 1,801 passengers per

vessel, compared to 125 calls and an average 1,919 passengers per vessel in January-June 2016.