MaltaMedia.com

The National Statistics Office has reported that in May, cruise passenger traffic amounted to 55,068 persons, up by 71 per cent compared to last year. There were 34 cruise liner calls.

Transit passengers comprised 50,947, or 92.5 per cent of the total. Same-day visitors who were in transit went up by 70.9 per cent compared to last year. Passengers from EU countries amounted to 44,150, with Germany and Italy being the leading markets. Same-day visitors from Non-EU countries stood at 10,918, of whom 5,439 (49.8 per cent) were American.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta for the first five months stood at 157,224, an increase of 54.3 per cent over the comparative period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 78.4 per cent of total traffic, with Italy and Germany being the main markets. Regarding Non-EU markets, the number of cruise passengers from the United States went down by 5,372, but retained its lead.

On a gender basis, female passengers stood at 81,393, accounting for 51.8 per cent of total cruise passengers. Furthermore, 57,159 visitors were aged between 60 and 79 (36.4 per cent of total traffic), followed by those in the 40-59 age bracket, which stood at 49,051(31.2 per cent of total traffic).