In October, cruise passenger traffic in Malta accounted for 58,186 persons, a decrease of 2.6 per cent over the same month in 2006. Total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 58,186, a decrease of 1,530 passengers over the same month in 2006. Embarkations from and landings in Malta in this month stood at 1,299 and 1,223 persons respectively.

During the first ten months of 2007, total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 425,891, an increase of 17.0 per cent over the same period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 83.7 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Spain, and Germany. The American market remained substantial, representing more than half of the non-EU incoming passengers. The growth was underpinned by increases from the Spanish and Italian markets.

On a gender basis, male passengers exceeded female ones by 1.8 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers, 34.6 per cent, comprised persons aged between 40 and 59 years, followed by those in the 60-79 age bracket who accounted for 24.3 per cent of the total.

In October, cruise liner calls decreased by four when compared to the same month in 2006, bringing the total for the first ten months of the year to 318 compared to 315 in the same period of 2006. The chart below shows that the average number of passengers per vessel is on the increase