Cruise passengers continue to increase

Total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 58,237 in July, an increase of 16,649 passengers over the same month in 2006, according to the National Statistics Office.

Embarkations from and landings in Malta stood at 1,511 and 1,518 persons respectively.

During the first seven months of 2007, total cruise passenger traffic amounted to 223,056, an increase of 28.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 83.6 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 largest proportion of passengers - 34.1 per cent - comprised persons aged between 40 and 59 years.