The Lotteries and Gaming Authority is going to engage in more consultation on legislation which would allow cruise liners to open their casinos – giving a ray of hope that it could be more attractive than the original proposal.

The LGA head, Joe Cuschieri, told The Business Observer it was “not far” from issuing the new regulations.

The operator of the cruise terminal, Valletta Cruise Port, has been frustrated by delays in enacting the new legislation, saying it could help negotiations for the 2016 season which are currently under way. However, the delay may be worth it if it means that the regulator listens to their concerns about the costs it imposes on cruise lines.

At present, cruise liners have to shut their casinos as soon as they enter Maltese territorial waters. The only other country in the Med which allows them to stay open is Gibraltar, which changed its legislation two years ago, enabling them to open after 6pm.

The original legal notice for Malta was drafted over a year ago. Ships would have had to pay up to €30,000, based on a concession fee and licence, and a charge of €100 a year for every gaming machine on board and another €150 for each gambling table.

“Onboard gaming is one of cruise lines’ main sources of income. We gain nothing out of allowing them to open in port – but neither do we lose anything as only passengers would be able to gamble. But for them it is an incentive to stay overnight,” VCP chief executive officer Stephen Xuereb explained.

“We have repeatedly encouraged the LGA to rethink. The best model is Gibraltar – which ­exempted them from licence ­requirements,” he said.

Only 6,200 cruise passengers stayed overnight in the first six months of the year, according to the National Statistics Office.

Mr Xuereb explained that Malta stood to gain considerably from overnight stays.

“Cruise lines would be able to sell night tours – such as village feast visits – an additional source of revenue for us and them,” he said.

An added benefit is that daytime tours will not be rushed, as at present many ships leave around 6pm in order to be in territorial waters by the time passengers have eaten.

“The proximity of Valletta to the port is a disadvantage as it is very easy for passengers to do their own thing. Night tours would be a way to sell them something...

“The ships want to offer a positive customer experience but ultimately they also want to make a profit out of a destination!”

There is also frustration after the delay in repositioning the Xlendi buoy, which was installed after years of planning but whose design was then found to have be endangerously miscalculated.

“The cruise lines are shortening their itineraries to save on fuel.

“If we provide two different destinations, with minimal costs to them – especially for fuel – it would be a real ­attraction.

“We strongly believe that Gozo can only work in tandem with Malta. Our idea is that they would spend the day in Gozo, come to Malta for the night and then leave the following day.

“Apart from the Xlendi buoy, we would need an alternative in case of inclement weather. Mġarr is already in the pipeline,” he said.

VCP is forecasting that 2014 will see a 5-8 per cent increase over 2013. But this will still be a long way from 2012, which was an exceptional year because of repositioning calls and last-minute bookings of ships diverted from Tunisia as a result of the Arab Spring.

Between January and June in 2012, there were 208,594 passengers, but this figure fell to 139,411 in 2013. It has now recovered to 161,502, according to the NSO.

July and August are particularly quiet because MSC Cruises are visiting Malta with a smaller vessel, and Malta is now on Costa’s 12-day itinerary – not their weekly one – which also affects numbers.

September to November will be the busiest months, boosted by TUI’s homeporting with MeinSchiff 3, its newest vessel. It is already too late to do much to affect 2015’s figures, expected to be slightly higher than this year.

VCP is now working on increasing MSC and Costa to previous levels, as well as bringing back the Aida and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Discussions are also under way with two or three lines for homeporting.

“With homeporting, our biggest challenge remains airlifts. It is a chicken-and-egg situation. With TUI it was a bit different because it has its own aircraft. But if there is demand, I am sure that we will find an airline that would service it. We could also benefit if Malta were to fast track visas from China and introduce direct flights... Imagine if the Chinese flew here to start a Mediterranean cruise?”

Not all the factors affecting 2106 are in Malta’s control. Mr Xuereb pointed out that Malta stands to win considerable traffic if North Africa opened up and stabilised.

“Places like Libya and Tunisia have an exotic appeal. This would put Malta on their logical path back to the northern Mediterranean,” he pointed out.