Valletta Cruise Port welcomed a record 900,000 cruise passenger movements this year

Stephen Xuereb, CEO of Valletta Cruise Port and COO of Global Ports Holding said, ‘We are celebrating an exceptional year for Valletta Cruise Port culminating in a record number of cruise passenger movements. Together with local stakeholders we have worked relentlessly towards achieving this target and to ensure its sustainability in the future.’

History and heritage

Carlo Micallef, Deputy CEO and Chief Marketing Officer of  MTA said, ‘Cruise lines and their passengers often describe Malta's Grand Harbour as one of the most beautiful ports in the world and this is possibly the best introduction that first-time visitors to our Islands can enjoy to Malta's rich history and heritage.’

He added, ‘The Malta Tourism Authority is very pleased with the results being achieved in the cruise sector, a sector that is very important to the economy of Valletta especially and also to a wide range of tourism service providers. In addition to the direct benefits of spend by cruise visitors in our Islands, surveys confirm that a high percentage of those that visit Malta for the first time on a cruise ship, often return to our Islands for a holiday within two or three years of first visit.’

Valletta Cruise Port is anticipating closing the year 2019 with record passenger movements of approximately 906,000 passenger movements aboard 373 calls. 

Valletta Cruise Port has become one of the top 14 port of calls in the Mediterranean. Homeporting calls are also on the increase and now comprise around 31% of its operations in 2019 as compared to 22% in 2018.

Infrastructure expansion

In 2020 works will be starting on Quays Pinto 4-5 in November. With this development Valletta Cruise Port is looking at a more attractive and secure operation, without the need for the spacer barges currently in use on these quays.

Valletta Cruise Port is also in the process of implementing an Environmental Risk Management System (ERMS). The environmental and conservation policy is in compliance with ISO 14001:2015, a baseline requirement for almost all national and international ‘green port’ creditations.

Additionally, from a local perspective Valletta Cruise Port shall be enhancing the Valletta Waterfront destination through the embellishment of the waterfront, investing in excess of €2m to install new outside canopies that will not impact on the visual of the historical vaults.