Blissful days at sea

Aside from cargo, ships also carry holiday passengers looking for a luxurious break

In 2017, from January to December approximately 670,135 passengers took a cruise to or from Malta. Some were in transit, others landing, some stayed overnight, but sadly the fewest – a mere 14,503 visited Gozo. This is a real shame considering all the island has to offer visitors and that it had once planned for cruise ships to be able to moor close to its shores regularly.

The majority of tourists came from EU countries, of which the largest numbers were from Germany (115,358). England 113,387 and Italy (99,927) came next. Then came Spain (28, 822) and France (58, 018). Not surprisingly, America with (72,612) made up the highest number of passengers. Canada (20,870)Australia, (16,933) came next and Japan(7, 064) followed.

It is often thought that more females choose cruises than men and these figures were born out by the difference between 356, 802 female and 313,333 male passengers who came to Malta last year.

The idea that cruises are only for the elderly still seems to hold strong, although judging by the figure of 82,977 under 19s accounted for, family cruises must be catching on. The least number of passengers came from the 80+ age group, understandable perhaps. But, despite the allure of a honeymoon cruise, 20-39 year olds are three times less likely to choose a cruise than the 60-79 year olds, who number a little more than those between 40 and 59.

The number of cruise liners coming in to Malta was 342, up from 316 in 2016 and 307 in 2015.

When a cruise liner calls at both Malta and Gozo it counts as a single call. The number of passengers who embarked from Malta usually return to their home port so they are not included in the total traffic figure, but 41,570 passengers sailed away last year.

Transit passengers and those who land in Malta are included as cruise passengers. Passengers staying at least one night on board their liner numbered 40,759; a good deal more than last year’s 22,519 and many more than 15,847 in 2016.

All in all Malta deserves more cruise visitors. Cruising is a comparatively safe way to travel, the ports within reach of the Maltese Islands are many and varied and our climate and the seas around are generally temperate and moderate.