The decrease in the number of cruise passengers coming to Malta continued last month, with a 22 per cent drop in arrivals, according to NSO statistics issued this morning.

It said that 56,607 persons came to Malta on cruise ships in October, a decrease of 16,114 over the corresponding month in 2008.

During October the number of embarkations from and landings in Malta stood at 1,934 and 1,878 persons respectively.

Passengers from EU countries made up for 75.2 per cent of the total traffic, with the main markets being Italy, France and Germany.

On the other hand, same-day visitors from the United Kingdom and Spain recorded drops during the month under review, when compared to October 2008. January-October 2009.

Total cruise passenger traffic in Malta this year to October amounted to 367,370, a decrease of 26.0 per cent over the comparative period last year. Same-day visitors from EU countries accounted for 75.1 per cent of total traffic, the main markets being Italy, Germany, France and Spain. Cruise passengers coming from EU countries registered a drop of 28.6 per cent with significant drops being recorded in the Spanish, British and Italian markets.

The American market remained substantial representing 57.0 per cent of the non-EU incoming passengers. On a gender basis, female passengers exceeded male ones by 8.1 per cent. The largest proportion of passengers - 33.5 per cent - comprised persons aged between 40 and 59, followed by those in the 60 to 79 age bracket who accounted for 28.9 per cent of the total.

There were 43 cruise liner calls in October, with a total of 219 calls since January 2009 - a decrease of 38.8 per cent with respect to the previous year.