By
Rebecca Gibson |
Valletta Cruise Port handled a record 668,277 passenger movements during 306 cruise calls in 2015, beating the previous record of 608,786 passengers movements, which was set in 2012.
According to statistic, almost 79% of these passenger movements were from day calls, while 21% can be attributed to homeporting operations.
Around 15.7% of the passengers movements were recorded in October, making it the busiest month. Several busy cruise days were recorded throughout the year, with the busiest day being the 22 July when more than 13,500 passengers arrived on MSC Cruises’ MSC Fantasia and Costa Cruises’ Costa NeoClassica, which berthed at Boiler Wharf and Lab Wharf.
“Improving the infrastructure on Quays 4 and 5 and a proposed extension towards Barriera Wharf is critical to the continued growth of the industry in Valletta,” said Stephen Xuereb, the port’s CEO. “Valletta Cruise Port is currently working on these plans in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead. 2016 is looking very positive and Valletta is expected to welcome an unprecedented 740,000 passenger movements.”