The number of cruise liners that docked in Malta in summer increased when compared to the same period last year, however, fewer passengers made it to the island.

According to national data published on Wednesday, the total cruise passenger traffic during the third quarter of 2024 amounted to 321,814 - a drop of 7.6 per cent over the same quarter of last year.

In all, there were 124 cruise liner calls between July and September - an increase of 16 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 271,268 (84.3 per cent), the data published by the National Statistics Office shows.

On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 2,595 passengers - 629 less than the previous year.

Passengers from EU member states made up 44.7 per cent of the total traffic.

The major markets were Italy, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany at 8.5 per cent.

The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 178,124, of whom 36.8 per cent came from the UK and 36.2 per cent came from the US

The largest share of passengers fell within the 40 to 59 age bracket (32.7 per cent) and was followed by those aged between 60 and 79 years (30.8 per cent).

January to September 2024

In the first nine months of the year, the total number of cruise passengers stood at 672,276. Of these, 42.9 per cent came from the EU.

Between January and September, most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old.

In all, there were 271 cruise liner calls during this time, with an average of 2,481 passengers per vessel, compared to 227 calls and an average of 2,844 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2023.