Relevance
Statistics
relate to inter-island sea transport traffic, explained by the number of vessel
trips, passenger and vehicle movements between Malta and Gozo. The ferry service is operated by Gozo Channel
Co. Ltd.
On a national level, statistics on
sea transport between Malta and Gozo are essential for regional management, policy
making and research, namely by Ministries, Government departments, authorities and
interested stakeholders.
Methodological
description
Data
on Sea Transport between Malta and Gozo is compiled from administrative information provided by Gozo
Channel Co. Ltd, on
a monthly basis. This data is provided within
five working
days following end of reference month. Two different
approaches are applied for data
collection at Mġarr and Ċirkewwa harbours, respectively. While the data source for the Mġarr side is the Automated Ticketing
System (ATS), data for the Ċirkewwa
side is dependent on the manual clicking system.
Accuracy
and reliability of data
Mġarr side statistics are considered highly
accurate, based on scanner data recorded prior to boarding on vessel. Statistics for the Ċirkewwa side are based on
ongoing hand-held tally clicking, for passengers and vehicles, respectively.
Timeliness
and punctuality of data
The
‘Sea Transport between Malta and Gozo’ news release is published quarterly on
the NSO’s website as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar.
Statistics
for a particular
reference quarter are published in the following quarter.
Accessibility
and clarity of data
Tables
on sea transport between Malta and Gozo are also included in an annual
publication ‘Transport
Statistics’ which is available on the NSO’s website.
Coherence
and comparability / consistency of data
Monthly
statistics on sea transport between Malta and Gozo are fully comparable as from
year 2002.
Such data collection
is the only source which brings together information on sea transport between
Malta and Gozo. Thus, coherence tests
with other domains are not possible.