76,562 cruise ship passengers registered in first quarter of this year

Total cruise passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 76,562, an increase of 6.4% over the same quarter of last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

There were 19 cruise liner calls during the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 2 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 73,372 (95.8%). On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 4,030 passengers, 602 more than the previous year, the NSO said. 

"Passengers from EU Member States comprised 62.7% of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 28.4% of the total passengers, followed by Spain, with 11.3%. The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 28,584, of whom 21.9% came from the United Kingdom and 14.5% came from the United States."

On a gender basis, female passengers made up 52.4% of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 40-59 age bracket (32.4%) and were followed by those aged between 60 and 79 years (25.9%), it said.