The number of passengers who visited Malta on cruise ships in the third quarter of this year was up by 197,984, or 26.3 per cent, compared to the same period last year, the NSO said today. 

There were 102 cruise liner calls during the third quarter, 11 more than last year. At 82.6 per cent, transit passengers accounted for the vast majority of total traffic, reaching 163,624. Around 5,256 passengers visited Gozo, while 4,353 passengers spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner.

Visitors from EU Member States comprised 77.1 per cent of total traffic, the major markets being Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and France. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 45,341, of whom 30.7 per cent came from the United States.

On a gender basis, women made up 52.0 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers were in the 40-59 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 60 and 79.

January-September 2015

During the first nine months, total cruise passengers stood at 423,861, a rise of 33.2 per cent over 2014. Of these, 76.4 per cent came from EU Member States. The biggest increases were recorded from the Italian and German markets, which advanced by 23,503 and 21,258 passengers respectively.