Cruise passenger traffic in Malta in August accounted for 80,176 persons, an increase of 14.3 per cent over the same month in 2006, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.

The increase was of 10,034 passengers over the same month in 2006. Embarkations from and landings in Malta in the month stood at 1,615 and 1,599 persons respectively.

January-August 2007

During the first eight months of 2007, total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 303,232, an increase of 24.2 per cent over the same period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 83.3 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Spain, and Germany. The American market remained substantial, representing more than half of the non-EU incoming passengers. The growth was underpinned by increases from the Spanish and Italian markets.

On a gender basis, male passengers exceeded females by 2.9 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers, 34.9 per cent, comprised persons aged between 40 and 59 years, followed by those in the 20-39 age bracket who accounted for 23.1 per cent of the total.

In August, cruise liner calls increased by three when compared to the same month in 2006, bringing the total for the first eight months of the year to 208 compared to 202 in the same period of 2006.