Cruise passenger traffic up by 19.8% over December 2009

During December, cruise passengers in transit numbered 23,779 (98.8 per cent of the total), while passengers embarking from Malta stood at 138. The majority of passengers fell within the 60-79 age group (9,771), followed by the 40-59 age bracket (6,976). Female passengers amounted to 12,561, or 52.2 per cent of the total.

The majority of cruise passengers came from EU Member States and stood at 13,767, whereas those from Non-EU countries made up 42.8 per cent and amounted to 10,292. The majority of European passengers came from the United Kingdom (3,950) whereas most Non-EU passengers were American (6,558). There were 12 cruise liner calls in December, with an average 2,005 passengers per vessel.

Last year, the total number of cruise passengers stood at 491,201, up by 11.7 per cent over the previous year. This change was mainly brought about by a substantial increase in the Italian and French markets, which together made up 37.6 per cent of total cruise passengers. Cruise passengers from the United States dropped by 34.6 per cent and were the main cause of the decline in the Non-EU market.

Most passengers fell within the 40-59 age bracket and stood at 158,684. These were followed closely by the 60-79 age group (156,873). On a gender basis, female passengers amounted to 251,999, or 51.3 per cent of the total, while males numbered 239,202. There were 275 cruise liner calls last year, an increase of 14 vessels when compared to 2009 levels.