A longstanding problem over a shortage of tourist coaches needs to be tackled with urgency as the number of cruise liner passengers visiting Malta increases, a leading tour operating company insisted today.

The SMS Group said that while the number of cruise passengers visiting Malta is rising rapidly, the number of coach licences has not increased since 1995.

“In 2007 Malta received 500,000 cruise passengers more than it did in 1995. This is a clear indicator that Malta’s stock of tourist coaches needs to be reviewed quickly,” Neville Mifsud , chairman of SMS said.

He made his comments as SMS welcomed the Norwegian Gem, the latest addition to the Norwegian Cruise line fleet, which is making its maiden call to Malta. The ship will be calling at Malta every Tuesday for the next 27 weeks. SMS are responsible for its port agency and shore excursions. SMS will this year be handling 180 cruise ship calls in Malta.

Mr Mifsud complained that his company often does not find enough coaches to handle its requirements when cruise liners call.

“Last Friday, when we handled three very large Costa cruise ships and a Japanese cruise liner, our contractor had to perform miracles in order to find the required number of coaches,” Mr Mifsud said.

“There are simply not enough tourist coaches today to handle the increased tourist arrivals. And as Malta grows in popularity among cruise line operators, this problem is likely to get more serious rather than diminish. We fear that a considerable shortage of suitable coaches will have a detrimental effect on most of our principals” he said.

A total of 1.7 million passengers arrived on cruise ships last year compared to 1.1 million in 1995.

The Norwegian Gem (93,530 tons) entered service in October last year. It carries up to 2,394 passengers and 1,100 crew.