Cruise passengers up

Cruise passenger traffic last year hit 555,840, surpassing 2007 by just under 14 per cent, according to the National Statistics Office.

The majority of passengers, 77 per cent, were from the EU, mostly from Spain, Italy, the UK and Germany. Despite this, the German market experienced a drop of 28,484 passengers, the Italians went down by 11,508 and the French by 3,169.

On the contrary, the US market saw a rise of 89.3 per cent, representing 57.7 per cent of non-EU incoming passengers.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco said this year's increase was achieved by the hard work of all stakeholders. This bode well for this year notwithstanding the difficulties and challenges being faced by the tourism sector worldwide. However, experts in the industry are "cautiously optimistic" that it can continue to grow because of "value for money".

"Both the government and the private sector are working hard to continue with the promotion of Malta, not only as one of the principal ports of call in the Mediterranean but also as a cruise-and-stay destination, thus enhancing the value added which this type of travelling can have on our tourism industry," Dr de Marco said.

He said the Malta Maritime Authority has just issued the tender for a berthing buoy in Xlendi and, once in place, Gozo can be actively promoted as an independent port of call.

"The visitor figures achieved in 2008 vindicate the investment and commitment by the private sector and the government in this area over the past years," Dr de Marco said.