Cruise visitors in February down 19.8%

A total of 11,369 cruise passengers came to Malta in February, a drop of 19.8 per cent over the same month in 2009.

Passengers from EU countries accounted for 59.5 per cent of total traffic, with Germany being the main market. Moreover, same-day visitors from non-EU markets stood at 4,603, of which 64.5 per cent were from the United States.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta for the first two months amounted to 20,431, a decrease of 23.7 per cent over the comparative period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 64.7 per cent of total traffic, with Germany being the leading market.

Cruise passengers coming from EU Member States dropped by 18.2 per cent over 2009, with the largest declines being recorded in the British and Spanish markets. On the other hand, increases were recorded from Germany and France.

Female passengers amounted to 51.8 per cent of the total traffic. The majority of cruise passengers were aged between 60 and 79, followed by those in the 40 to 59 age bracket.

Together, these two categories comprised 80 per cent of total cruise passenger traffic.