Cruise Passengers: Q3/2024
There were 124 cruise liner calls during the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 16 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 271,268 (84.3 per cent). On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 2,595 passengers, 629 less than the previous year (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States comprised 44.7 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany, with 8.5 per cent. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 178,124, of whom 36.8 per cent came from the United Kingdom and 36.2 per cent came from the United States (Table 1).
On a gender basis, female passengers made up 53.4 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 40-59 age bracket (32.7 per cent) and were followed by those aged between 60 and 79 years (30.8 per cent) (Table1).
January-September 2024
During the three quarters of 2024, total cruise passengers stood at 672,276. Of these, 42.9 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 360,571 or 53.6 per cent of the total. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, totalling 235,340 (35.0 per cent). These were followed by passengers aged 40-59 years, reaching 208,308 (31.0 per cent) (Table 2).
There were 271 cruise liner calls during the period under consideration, with an average of 2,481 passengers per vessel, compared to 227 calls and an average of 2,844 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 |
| July-September | 40,384 | 56,808 | 49,943 |
| January-September | 64,502 | 97,042 | 103,386 |
- 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: Q3/2024
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the third quarter of 2024 amounted to 321,814, a decrease of 7.6 per cent over the same quarter of last year.
- There were 124 cruise liner calls during the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 16 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- Italy and Germany were the top two EU markets for the third quarter of 2024.
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the first three quarters of 2024 amounted to 672,276, an increase of 4.1 per cent over the same period last year.
- There were 271 cruise liner calls during the first three quarters of 2024, an increase of 44 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
