Cruise Passengers: Q4/2025
There were 93 cruise liner calls during the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 169,152 (94.3 per cent). On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 1,928 passengers, 6 more than the previous year (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States comprised 42.0 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Germany, accounting for 11.3 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Italy, with 11.1 per cent. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 103,991, where the United States accounted for 20.5 per cent of the total passengers and 13.0 per cent came from the United Kingdom (Table 1).
On a gender basis, female passengers made up 52.5 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age bracket (43.8 per cent) and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59 years (27.3 per cent) (Table1).
January-December 2025
During 2025, total cruise passengers stood at 870,560. Of these, 45.9 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 463,366 or 53.2 per cent of the total. Most passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, totalling 313,575 (36.0 per cent). These were followed by passengers aged 40-59 years, reaching 263,091 (30.2 per cent) (Table 2).
There were 387 cruise liner calls during the year, with an average of 2,250 passengers per vessel, compared to 363 calls and an average of 2,339 passengers per vessel in the comparitive period of 2024 (Table 2).
Chart 1. Total cruise passenger traffic by period
Methodological Notes
| Embarkations | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| October-December | 6,608 | 9,618 | 9,674 |
| January-December | 103,650 | 113,004 | 114,256 |
6. Definitions:
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.
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Cruise Passengers: Q4/2025
- Total cruise passenger traffic during the fourth quarter of 2025 amounted to 179,299, an increase of 1.4 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year.
- There were 93 cruise liner calls during the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany were the top three markets for the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Total cruise passenger traffic during 2025 amounted to 870,560, an increase of 2.5 per cent over 2024.
- There were 387 cruise liner calls during 2025, an increase of 24 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
