Sea transport between Malta and Gozo registered increases during the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.

The National Statistics Office said 1,355,243 passengers travelled between Malta and Gozo, 2.6% more than in the corresponding quarter in 2018. The highest number of passengers was recorded in October – 533,020 or 39.3% of the total.

When comparing to the previous year, the number of vehicles increased by 6.8%, totalling 425,767.

There were 7,653 trips, an increase of 31.5%. The majority of trips took place in October – 2,712 or 35.4% of total trips for the quarter.

The increase can be largely attributed to Gozo Channel's addition of a fourth ferry to add to the company's capacity and ease queuing pressures. 

Annual Perspective: 2019

Overall, the number of trips went up by 4,012 or 17%, over 2018. Vehicle movements between the islands increased by 123,007 or 7.4%, while the number of passengers went up by 159,462 or 2.8%.

As in previous years, August recorded the highest number of trips, 2,802 or 10.1% of the total.

August also registered the largest share of vehicles and passengers crossing between the two islands - 187,536 and 649,878, respectively.

Passenger and vehicle traffic originating from Ċirkewwa was busiest on Friday and Saturday, whereas the highest numbers from Mġarr were recorded on Sunday and Saturday for passengers and Sunday and Monday for vehicles.