There were 98 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 4 when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 186,149. On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 2,299 passengers, 953 more than the previous year (Table 1).
Passengers from EU Member States comprised 50.9 per cent of total traffic. The major markets were Italy, accounting for 16.9 per cent of the total passengers, followed by Germany, with 12.6 per cent. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 110,562, of whom 50.5 per cent came from the United Kingdom and 24.8 per cent came from the United States (Table 1).
On a gender basis, female passengers made up 54.0 per cent of the total. The largest share of passengers fell within the 60-79 age bracket (34.8 per cent) and were followed by those aged between 40 and 59 years (33.7 per cent) (Table1).
January-June 2023
During the first half of the year, total cruise passengers stood at 297,299. Of these, 56.2 per cent came from EU Member States (Table 2).
The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 159,945 or 53.8 per cent of the total traffic. The largest share of passengers fell within the 40 and 59 age bracket, totalling 100,437 (33.8 per cent). These were followed by passengers aged 60-79 years, reaching 94,554 (31.8 per cent) (Table 2).
There were 119 cruise liner calls during the first two quarters of 2023, with an average of 2,498 passengers per vessel, compared to 125 calls and an average of 1,300 passengers per vessel in the comparitive period of 2022 (Table 2).
Chart 1. Total cruise passenger traffic
No Data Found
Methodological Notes
| Embarkations | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April-June | 0 | 22,383 | 36,533 |
| January-June | 0 | 24,118 | 40,234 |
- 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 second quarter of 2023 amounted to 225,313.
- There were 98 cruise liner calls during the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of four when compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
- Italy and Germany were the top two markets of the EU member states for the second quarter of 2023.
- Female passengers amounted to 121,641 and made up 54.0 per cent of the total traffic.
- The largest share of passengers, or 34.8 per cent, fell within the 60 to 79 age bracket.
