MaltaMedia.com

In September 2009, cruise passenger traffic in Malta comprised 61,893 persons, a decrease of 19.4 per cent over the comparative month in 2008, new NSO data revealed on Tuesday.

These figures constitute a drop of 14,919 passengers over the corresponding month in 2008. During September the number of embarkations from and landings in Malta stood at 3,023 and 3,137 persons respectively, while the total number of transit passengers stood at 55,733. Passengers from EU countries made up 80.7 per cent of total traffic, with the main markets being Italy, Germany and Spain.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta amounted to 310,763, a decline of 26.6 per cent over the comparative period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 75.1 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

Cruise passengers coming from EU countries registered a drop of 30.2 per cent, with significant drops being recorded in the Spanish and Italian markets. The American market remained substantial, representing 58.7 per cent of the non-EU incoming passengers.

On a gender basis, female passengers exceeded male ones and accounted for 52.1 per cent of total passengers. The largest proportion of passengers – 34.0 per cent – comprised persons aged between 40 and 59, followed by those in the 60 to 79 age bracket who accounted for 27.7 per cent of the total.

The average number of passengers per cruise liner is defined as the number of cruise passengers divided by the number of cruise liner calls. There were 35 cruise liner calls in September with an average of 1,768 passengers per vessel. A total of 176 cruise liner calls were recorded for the period January to September, down by 41.9 per cent with respect to last year.