In July 2008, cruise passenger traffic in Malta comprised 71,534 persons, an increase of 22.8 per cent over the comparative month in 2007.

July 2008 – Total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 71,534, an increase of 13,297 passengers over the same month in 2007. Embarkations from and landings in Malta in this month stood at 3,131 and 3,203 persons respectively.

January-July 2008 – Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta amounted to 270,104, an increase of 21.1 per cent over the same period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 78.2 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Spain and Germany. On the other hand, the American market remained substantial, representing 61.4 per cent of the non- EU incoming passengers. The overall growth in cruise passenger traffic was underpinned by increases in the American, British and Spanish markets. At the same time, the cruise passenger scene was characterised by falls in the German and French markets, respectively by 8,253 and 1,987 passengers.

On a gender basis, male passengers slightly exceeded female ones. The largest proportion of passengers – 32.9 per cent – comprised persons aged between 40 and 59 years, followed by those in the 60-79 age bracket who accounted for 29.3 per cent of the total.

There were 42 cruise liner calls in July, bringing the total for the first seven months of the year to 197 compared to 167 in the same period of 2007.

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