Cruise passenger traffic drops by 97% in third quarter – NSO

Total cruise passenger traffic during the third quarter of 2020 amounted to 7,018, a decrease of 97.3% over the corresponding period in 2019, the NSO said.

The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the main reason for such results.

There were seven cruise liner calls during the third quarter of 2020, 115 less than the previous year. Transit passengers accounted for the absolute majority of total traffic, reaching 7,016. On average, every vessel that berthed in Malta carried 1,003 passengers, 1,105 less than the previous year. Passengers from EU member states comprised 96.9% of total traffic.

The major markets were Italy accounting for 78.9% of the total passengers, followed by France with 9.3%. The total number of passengers from non-EU countries stood at 216, of whom 6.5% came from the United Kingdom. On a gender basis, female passengers made up 51.2% of the total.

The largest share of passengers fell within the 40-59 age bracket and were followed by those aged between 20 and 39 years.

During the first nine months of the year, total cruise passengers stood at 47,193, a decrease of 92.1% over 2019. Of

these, 60% came from EU member states. The most significant decrease was recorded in the German, American and Italian markets.

The majority of the passengers were females amounting to 24,845 or 52.6% of the total. Most passengers were between 40 and 59 years old, totalling 15,450. These were followed by passengers aged 60-79 years, reaching 11,505. There were 16 cruise liner calls during the first three quarters of 2020, with an average 2,950 passengers per vessel, compared to 273 calls and an average 2,194 passengers per vessel in the comparitive period of 2019.