The cruise liner industry contributed €62 million to the Maltese economy, according to a European study.

The latest edition of the Contribution of Cruise Tourism to the Economies of Europe report, published by the European Cruise Council, places Valletta as the fourth most popular port of call, just below Naples, Leghorn and Nice.

The 2009 edition of the report had put the direct economic impact at €65 million in 2008.

Viset plc, the operators of the cruise passenger terminal, said the industry supported 2,531 indirect and direct jobs in Malta and compensation to such jobs amounted to about €34 million.

This year, cruise passenger numbers in September fell by 17.2 per cent when compared to the same period last year, Viset said.

Twenty two cruise liners, carrying 48,725 passengers, called at the Grand Harbour this September, significantly fewer than the 58,876 visitors brought in the same month last year.

This decrease notwithstanding, Viset is still expecting to end the year with more passengers than 2009. “In fact, the number of passengers who called in the port of Valletta since January 2010 stands at 347,134, compared to 299,698 in the first nine months of 2009. That marks an increase of 15.8 per cent on last year,” Viset said.