Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/197223
3 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2013 former vestigate Cruise passenger traffic for third quarter down by 22.9% – NSO Less cruise liners, passengers this summer than last year's THE total cruise passenger traffic to Malta dropped by 22.9% to 171,279 for the summer months, according to a report issued by the National Statistics Office. The report said that there were a total of 101 cruise liner calls in the period from July to September, down from the 113 which Malta hosted last year. Transit passengers accounted for the vast majority of total traffic, reaching 144,148 – or 84.2 %. Of these, 993 passengers visited Gozo. Visitors from EU member states accounted for 75.6 % of total traffic, with the majority originating from the British, German or Italian markets. On the other hand, the for approval the entire area. The case officer report also reveals that of the 424 parking spaces, 230 parking spaces will be needed for the development itself, while 193 spaces will be available for the general public. The development envisions the retention of the façade of the twostorey villa St Joseph. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has also alerted MEPA about an underground war shelter, which will be retained. No Retail Impact Assessment has been conducted on the proposed supermarket because the supermarket is not located outside a town centre. A photomontage of the proposed complex shows that it would not be higher than the roofs of the other Lapsi Street buildings, and thus would not obstruct neighbours' views. The project also includes a set of public lifts linking the parish church to the car park and Lapsi Street to the car park and retail outlets. The lifts would offer pedestrians a shortcut, both down to Spinola Square and also up to Lapsi Street. The application has been processed in a record time of three months since the validation of the application in August, and a MEPA board decision is expected on 31 October. The first plans for the project were submitted in 2011, but the application was only validated by MEPA two years later after changes to the local plan were approved in February 2013. total number of passengers from Non-EU countries stood at 41,750, of whom 43.5% were US nationals. An increase in the British, Japanese, Australian and American markets was recorded, despite the decrease in total traffic. At 91,040, female passengers made up 53.2 % of the total while, at 34.9 %, the largest share of passengers fell within the 40-59-year-old age bracket. These were followed by those aged between 60 and 79, with a share of 31%. During the first nine months of the year, the number of cruise passengers dropped by 27.9% when compared to the corresponding period last year. Of these, 75.7% came from EU member states. The sharpest drops were recorded from the German and Italian markets, which fell by 41,072 and 30,578 passengers respectively. Female passengers numbered 165,811 and were in the majority. Most of the cruise passengers were between 60 and 79 years old, amounting to 111,196. These were followed by passengers aged 40-59, totaling 103,626. In the nine months from January to September, there were 194 cruise liner calls, with an average 1,601 passengers per vessel. The average number of passengers per vessel also went down by 208 when compared to last year.