Over 256,000 Cruise Passengers Visited Malta Between April & June 2026

Malta recorded 256,369 cruise passenger movements during the second quarter of 2026, matching the total registered during the same period last year, according to the latest figures.

A total of 126 cruise liner calls were recorded between April and June, three more than in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

Transit passengers made up the vast majority of traffic, with 208,068 people, accounting for 81.2% of the total. On average, each cruise vessel arriving in Malta carried 2,035 passengers, 49 fewer than the previous year.

Passengers from European Union member states represented 43.5% of all cruise traffic. Italy was the largest individual market, accounting for 11.0% of total passengers, followed by Germany with 7.7%.

Meanwhile, 144,795 passengers came from non-EU countries. The United Kingdom was the biggest non-EU market, making up 24.8% of all passengers, while the United States accounted for 15.0%.

Women represented the majority of cruise passengers during the quarter, making up 55.1% of the total.

The largest age group was people aged between 60 and 79, who accounted for 43.3% of passengers. Those aged between 40 and 59 represented a further 27.1%.

During the first six months of 2026, total cruise passenger traffic reached 321,616. Of these, 44.1% came from EU member states.

A total of 159 cruise liner calls were recorded in the first half of the year, compared with 154 during the same period in 2025, although the average number of passengers per vessel fell from 2,214 to 2,023.

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