In November, cruise passenger traffic in Malta accounted for 57,366 persons, an increase of 47.9 per cent over the same month in 2006. Total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 57,366, an increase of 18,587 passengers over the same month in 2006. Embarkations from and landings in Malta in this month stood at 183 and 248 persons respectively.

During the first eleven months of 2007, total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 483,257, an increase of 20.0 per cent over the same period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 83.9 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Spain, and Germany. The American market remained substantial, representing almost half of the non-EU incomingpassengers. The growththat characterised this period was underpinned by increases in the Spanish and Italian markets.

On a gender basis, male passengers exceeded female ones by 1.4 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers - 34.4 per cent - comprised persons aged between 40 and 59 years, followed by those in the 60-79 age bracket who accounted for 25.7 per cent of the total.

In November, cruise liner calls increased by 13 when compared to the same month in 2006, bringing the total for the first eleven months of the year to 366 compared to 350 in the same period of 2006. The chart below shows that the average number of passengers per vessel is on the increase.