Total cruise passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2015 amounted to 20,653, a decrease of 45.8 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

There were nine cruise liner calls during the first quarter, 14 less than last year. At 99.7 per cent, transit passengers accounted for the vast majority of total traffic, reaching 20,582. Visitors from EU Member States comprised 77.8 per cent of total traffic, the major markets being Italy, Germany and France.

The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 4,584, of whom 12.2 per cent came from the United States.On a gender basis, female passengers made up 51.6 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers were in the 60-79 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59