Only 151 passengers were onboard cruise liners berthing in Gozo during the fourth quarter of last year, according to figures released from the National Statistics Office today.

This was a drastic decline on the previous year, in fact 1,490 fewer than the same period in 2018 when the figure stood at 1,641.

Total cruise passengers calling at Gozo during 2019 stood at 8,160, this figure was again down on the previous year when the number stood at 12,950, a drop of 4,790, or 37%.

On a national level, total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 166,859, the NSO said that this was a decrease of 12.7% over the corresponding period in 2018.

There were 86 cruise liner calls during the fourth quarter, nine less than the same period in 2018.

The NSO noted that at 89.5% transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 149,283. while 5,781 passengers spent at least one night on board their berthed cruise liner.

On average, every cruise liner that berthed in Malta carried 1,940 passengers, 73 less than the previous year.

Passengers from EU Member States amounted to 97,940, the major nationalities being German, Italian, British and French. The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 68,919, with 42.3% coming from the United States.

On a national level, total cruise passengers for 2019 stood at 765,696, an increase of 21.0% over 2018.

Of these, 64.2% came from EU Member States. The most significant increases were recorded in the German, American and British markets.

There were 359 cruise liner calls in 2019, with an average 2,133 passengers per vessel, compared to 310 calls and an average 2,041 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2018.

File photograph by Alain Salvary

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