Cruise passengers down by 2.3%

According to statistics published by the National Statistics Office (NSO), total cruise passenger traffic during the second quarter of 2016 amounted to 200,480, a decrease of 2.3% over the corresponding period last year. There were 108 cruise liner calls during the quarter, at par with last year.

Transit passengers made up the vast majority of total traffic (91.2%), reaching 187,754. Around 2,474 passengers visited Gozo, while 4,230 passengers spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner.

The NSO said that visitors from EU Member States accounted for 73.3% of total traffic, the major markets being Germany, Italy, and France. On the other hand, the total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 53,447, with 38.9% of these coming from the United States.

Furthermore, female passengers made up 53.6% of the total number of visitors. The majority of passengers were in the 60-79 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59.

Statistics showed that cruise passengers during the first half of the year stood at 239,855, a rise of 6.2% over 2015. 72.1% of these came from EU Member States. The biggest increase was recorded from the French market, with an increase of 7,523 passengers.

The majority of cruise passengers were female, amounting to 128,375. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, amounting to 92,909. These were followed by passengers aged 40-59, who added up to 74,192.

There were 125 cruise liner calls during the first six months, with an average of 1,919 passengers per vessel, compared to 117 calls with an average of 1,931 passengers per vessel in the January-June bracket.