During the first three quarters of 2025, the number of total cruise passengers stood at 691,261, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

Of these, 47% came from EU Member States. The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 369,154 or 53.4% of the total. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, totalling 235,046 (34%). These were followed by passengers aged 40-59 years, reaching 214,145 (31%).

There were 294 cruise liner calls during the first three quarters of the year, with an average of 2,351 passengers per vessel, compared to 271 calls and an average of 2,481 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2024, the NSO said.

Third quarter

In the third quarter alone, there were 140 cruise liner calls, an increase of 16 when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024.

"Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 294,501 (84.1%) in the third quarter.

Passengers from EU Member States comprised 50.2% of total traffic in the third quarter. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 19% of the total passengers, followed by Spain, with 10.4% during this quarter. "The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 174,427, of whom 37.1% came from the United Kingdom and 32.7$ came from the United States."