There were 108 cruise liner calls during the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 11 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 291,216 (83.6 per cent). On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 3,225 passengers, 921 more than the previous year (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States comprised 59.6 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 25.3 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany, with 11.7 per cent. The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 140,544, of whom 40.7 per cent came from the United Kingdom and 28.9 per cent came from the United States (Table 1).
On a gender basis, female passengers made up 52.9 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 40-59 age bracket (36.9 per cent) and were followed by those aged between 0 and 19 years (21.7 per cent) (Table1).
January-September 2023
During the first three quarters of the year, total cruise passengers stood at 645,567. Of these, 58.0 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 344,250 or 53.3 per cent of the total. Most passengers were between 40 and 59 years old, totalling 229,065 (35.5 per cent). These were followed by passengers aged 60-79 years, reaching 164,686 (25.5 per cent) (Table 2).
There were 227 cruise liner calls during the first three quarters of 2023, with an average of 2,844 passengers per vessel, compared to 222 calls and an average of 1,739 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2022 (Table 2).
Chart 1. Total cruise passenger traffic
No Data Found
Methodological Notes
| Embarkations | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| July-September | 5873 | 40,384 | 56,808 |
| January-September | 5873 | 64,502 | 97,042 |
- 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 in 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.
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the third quarter of 2023 amounted to 348,268, an increase of 55.8 per cent over the same quarter of last year.
- There were 108 cruise liner calls during the third quarter of 2023, an increase of 11 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- Italy and Germany were the top two EU markets for the third quarter of 2023.
- Female passengers amounted to 184,305 and made up 52.9 per cent of the total traffic.
- The largest share of passengers, or 36.9 per cent, fell within the 40 to 59 age bracket.
