The number of cruise liner passengers visiting Malta in the first three months of the year returned to 2014 levels after a precipitous dip last year. 

Almost 40,000 people came through Malta as part of a cruise between January and March, with the vast majority (99.5 per cent) being in transit. Of those, 1,003 spent at least one night aboard their berthed cruise liner.  

The number of passengers, 39,375, was almost double the 2015 figure of 20,653, and was marginally higher than 2014's 38,138. The number of cruise liners that called at Malta, 17, was also practically double the number that docked in Malta in the first three months of 2015.  

More than one in every four passengers was aged 60-79, with the 40-59 age bracket being the second most common.

Over 65 per cent of all passengers came from EU member states, with the majority coming from Italy, Germany and France. Passengers from the USA comprised the largest non-EU market. 

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