The number of people visiting Malta on cruise ships declined by almost a quarter last month compared to the same month last year, NSO figures show.

The visitors totalled 58,172 persons, a decline of 24.1 per cent over the comparative month in 2008.

Embarkations from and landings in Malta stood at 2,547 and 2,524 persons respectively.

The number of arrivals has been in decline throughout this year, with the total arrivals between January and August reaching 248,870, a drop of 28.2 percent over the comparative period last year.

Passengers from EU countries accounted for 73.7 percent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

A significant drop was registered in the Spanish and Italian markets. Cruise passengers coming from non-EU countries registered a decrease of 9.6 percent, with the American market representing 60.8 per cent of the non-EU incoming passengers.

On a gender basis, female passengers exceeded male ones by 9.1 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers - 34.2 per cent - comprised persons aged between 40 and 59, followed by those in the 60 to 79 age bracket, who accounted for 27.5 per cent of the total. Average number