Malta’s total cruise passenger traffic soared high by 44.2% reaching 263,608 in the second quarter of 2019, as compared to the corresponding period in 2018, according to the latest figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO). In the first half it went up by a joint 35.3%.
The second quarter of 2019 saw 130 cruise liner calls, with an increase of 27 calls compared to 2018. Transit passengers accounted for 79.9% of the majority of total traffic of 210,671.
Furthermore, 2,421 passengers visited Gozo while 8,419 spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner. Every vessel that berthed in Malta carried approximately 2,028 passengers, 253 more than the previous year, the NSO press release says.
On the one hand, tourists from EU member states represented 65.5% of total traffic, with Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France being the major markets. On the other hand, the total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 90,966, of whom 42.6% came from the United States.
Focusing on genders and age, women passengers made up 54.3% of the total and the largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age group and was followed by those aged between 40 and 59.
Traffic ups in H1
Moreover, during the first six months of the year, total cruise passengers increased by 35.3% to 341,659 over 2018. Some 65.6% of the total came from EU member states. Major increases were recorded in the German, American and British markets, according to the NSO figures.
In the first half of the year, women passengers were 184,799 and represented the majority. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, amounting to 138,732, who were followed by passengers aged 40-59, reaching 103,988.
In addition, there were 151 cruise liner calls during the period January-June, with an average of 2,263 tourists per vessel, compared to 120 calls and approximately 2,105 passengers in the same period of 2018.
The full report with charts and tables is available for download at the NSO website.