There were 61 cruise liner calls during the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 27 when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2021. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 96,435. On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 1,698 passengers, 374 more than in 2021 (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States made up 58.3 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 16.8 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany, with 16.1 per cent. The total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 43,203, of whom 35.3 per cent came from the United Kingdom and 31.7 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 60-79 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59 years (Table1).
January-December 2022
During 2022, total cruise passengers stood at 489,571. Of these, 59.3 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 259,916 or 53.1 per cent of the total. Most passengers were between 40 and 59 years old, totalling 170,857. These were followed by passengers aged 60-79 years, reaching 144,695 (Table 2).
There were 283 cruise liner calls in 2022, with an average of 1,730 passengers per vessel, compared to 106 calls and an average of 1,339 passengers per vessel in the comparative period of 2021 (Table 2).
Chart 1. Total cruise passenger traffic
No Data Found
Methodological Notes
| Embarkations | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October-December | 17,131 | 58 | 2,184 | 6,742 |
| January-December | 134,691 | 165 | 8,057 | 71,244 |
- 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 fourth quarter of 2022 amounted to 103,553.
- There were 61 cruise liner calls during the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of 27 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- Italy and Germany were the top two markets for the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Female passengers amounted to 54,800 and made up 52.9 per cent of the total traffic.
- The largest share of passengers, or 35.8 per cent, fell within the 60 to 79 age bracket.
