MaltaMedia.com

In June 2009, cruise passenger traffic in Malta comprised 33,636 persons, a decrease of 50 per cent over the same month in 2008, according to new data published Wednesday by the NSO.

Total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 33,636, a decrease of 33,623 passengers over the corresponding month in 2008. Embarkations from and landings in Malta stood at 992 and 948 persons respectively.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta amounted to 135,515, a decrease of 31.8 per cent over the comparative period last year. Passengers from EU countries accounted for 67.1 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Significant drops were registered in the Spanish and Italian markets. On the other hand, cruise passengers coming from non-EU countries registered an increase of 6.4 per cent, notably from the American market.

On a gender basis, female passengers exceeded male ones by 12.8 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers, 39.1 per cent, comprised persons aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 age bracket who accounted for 31.7 per cent of the total.

The average number of passengers per cruise liner, which is defined as the number of cruise passengers divided by the number of cruise liner calls, increased to 1,462 passengers per vessel for June. There were 23 cruise liner calls in June, bringing the total for the first half of 2009 to 94, compared to 155 calls corresponding period last year