Cruise Passengers: Official figures for Q1/2021

Added: 28 April 2021

Total cruise passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 7,966 passengers, a decrease of 80.2 per cent over the corresponding period in 2020.

During the first quarter of 2021, there were 9 cruise liner calls in Malta, the same number as in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 7,963 passengers. On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 885 passengers, 3,579 less than the previous year (Table 1).

EU nationals comprised the largest share of total cruise passengers during the period under review, at 94.7 per cent. The major market was Italy with 5,854 passengers, accounting for 73.5 per cent of the total passengers. The total number of cruise passengers from Non-EU countries during the quarter under review stood at 421, of whom 14.3 per cent were United States nationals. Overall, EU and Non-EU passengers decreased by 64.9 per cent and 97.7 per cent respectively, when compared to the same period in 2020 (Table 1).

Female passengers amounted to 4,102 and comprised 51.5 per cent of the total traffic. The largest share of passengers, or 37.7 per cent, fell within the 40 to 59 age bracket, followed by the 20 to 39 category, at 28.6 per cent (Table1).

Methodological Notes

1. The data in this release is compiled on the basis of administrative records supplied by Transport Malta.

2. Cruise liners calling at both Malta and Gozo during a single voyage are recorded as one cruise liner call.

3. Owing to the UK’s exit from the European Union (with effect from 1st February 2020), UK data is statistically classified as Non-EU from January 2020 for all the tables. Requests for further clarification may be directed to the Tourism and Education Statistics Unit.

4. Due to the UK’s re-classification following exit from the European Union on 1st February 2020, comparability of totals between same periods should be treated with caution.

5. The majority of passengers embarking on cruise liners from Malta generally end their trip at the same destination. Embarkations are therefore not included in total traffic figures, in order to avoid double counting. This measure was adopted as from News Release no. 079/2013, dated 23 April 2013. The referred news release also includes figures for 2011 and 2012.

6. Owing to the COVID-19 situation, for the year 2020, cruise liner calls were stopped from 10th March to 21st August.

7. For clarity, embarkation figures for the period under review are being provided:

8. Definitions:

• Cruise passenger traffic: comprises transit passengers and passengers who land in Malta.
• Embarkations: comprise all cruise passengers who are either Maltese or who are foreigners who arrive in Malta by other means of transport.
• Transit passengers: comprise all cruise passengers who arrive in and leave Malta on the same cruise ship.
• Landed passengers: comprise all cruise passengers who arrive in Malta on a cruise ship and leave by other means of transport, or alternatively, stay in Malta.
• Passengers staying overnight: comprise passengers who spend at least one night in the Maltese Islands, either onboard the cruise ship or on land.
• Average number of passengers per vessel: computed by dividing total cruise passenger traffic by the number of
  cruise liner calls.

9. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately.

10. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:  https://metadata.nso.gov.mt/ConceptDetails.aspx?id=388

11. A detailed news release calendar is available on:  https://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/Release_Calendar/Pages/News-Release-Calendar.aspx