A considerable decrease in cruise passenger traffic in January and February, compared to the same period last year, is “no cause for concern” for Malta Cruise Network coordinator Ben Stuart, particularly since the number of confirmed bookings for this year show that cruise passenger numbers are expected to go up by about 40,000.

Cruise passenger traffic in Grand Harbour accounted for 3,040 passengers in February, a 48 per cent drop over the same month last year, with a loss of 2,848 passengers, according to statistics issued by the National Statistics Office yesterday.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta in January and February amounted to 4,438, which meant a significant 61 per cent drop, or a decrease of 7,001 over the same period in 2006.

However, when contacted by The Malta Independent, Mr Stuart said this was not really significant, even though it may appear to be a drastic decrease.

“From our point of view, month on month, changes are very normal, particularly during off-peak periods. The drops during the first two months of the year are absolutely no problem for us, since we look at things on a quarterly or seasonal basis” Mr Stuart said.

He said factors like bad weather could have caused ships not to make it to Malta, or possibly into the Mediterranean.

According to NSO, cruise-liner calls decreased by three in February, compared to the same month last year, bringing the total for the January-February period to four compared to 10 during the same period last year.

“There were a couple of cancellations in January and February, particularly due to bad weather, but we must also remember that winter cruising in the Mediterranean is still in its infancy,” said Mr Stuart, adding that the number of confirmed bookings this year show that the passenger count is expected to increase from 390,000 last year to about 430,000 this year.

While the number of cruise-ship days was 200 last year, bookings show that this figure will be brought down to 193 days this year, which the Malta Cruise Network hopes to increase to at least 195 days.

While the number of cruise-ship days this year will be less, more cruise liners will be entering Grand Harbour and this will mean an increase in the number of passengers and “at the end of the day, that’s the direction we’re after,” said Mr Stuart.