Cruise Passengers: Q2/2024
There were 128 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 30 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 223,990 (81.8 per cent). On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 2,140 passengers, 159 less than the previous year (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States comprised 35.3 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 10.3 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany, with 8.6 per cent. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 177,150, of whom 39.1 per cent came from the United States and 35.6 per cent came from the United Kingdom (Table 1).
On a gender basis, female passengers made up 54.2 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age bracket (42.5 per cent) and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59 years (28.5 per cent) (Table1).
January-June 2024
During the first half of 2024, total cruise passengers stood at 350,462. Of these, 41.3 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 188,641 or 53.8 per cent of the total. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, totalling 136,137 (38.8 per cent). These were followed by passengers aged 40-59 years, reaching 102,931 (29.4 per cent) (Table 2).
There were 147 cruise liner calls during the first half of 2024, with an average of 2,384 passengers per vessel, compared to 119 calls and an average of 2,498 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2023 (Table 2).
Chart 1. Total cruise passenger traffic
No Data Found
Methodological Notes
| Embarkations | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| April-June | 22,383 | 36,533 | 50,271 |
| January-June | 24,118 | 40,234 | 53,443 |
- Cruise passenger traffic: comprises transit passengers and passengers who land in Malta.
- Embarkations: comprise all cruise passengers who are either Maltese or who are foreigners who arrive in Malta by other means of transport.
- Transit passengers: comprise all cruise passengers who arrive in and leave Malta on the same cruise ship.
- Landed passengers: comprise all cruise passengers who arrive in Malta on a cruise ship and leave by other means of transport, or alternatively, stay in Malta.
- Passengers staying overnight: comprise passengers who spend at least one night on the Maltese Islands, either onboard the cruise ship or on land.
- Average number of passengers per vessel: computed by dividing total cruise passenger traffic by the number of cruise liner calls.
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Cruise Passengers: Q2/2024
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the second quarter of 2024 amounted to 273,900, an increase of 21.6 per cent over the same quarter of last year.
- There were 128 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 30 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- Italy and Germany were the top two EU markets for the second quarter of 2024.
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the first half of 2024 amounted to 350,462, an increase of 17.9 per cent over the same period last year.
- There were 147 cruise liner calls during the first half of 2024, an increase of 28 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
