Valletta (Malta)

Valletta is the main port and capital city of Malta (island country in Mediterranean Sea, southern Europe). Malta Island is located midway between North Africa and Sicily Island (Italy). Since 1974, Malta is a British Commonwealth nation. The other Malta cruise port is Mġarr Harbour (on Gozo Island).

The cruise port is located within the Grand Harbour, which is a natural deep-water harbor waterway. The Valletta Cruise Port is a subsidiary company of Global Ports Holding

La Valletta City was founded by the 49th Grand Master of Knights of Saint John - Jean Parisot de Valette (1495-1568). Most of the city's medieval structures remain.

• In 2015, Port Valletta handled 668,277 cruise passengers - an increase of 29% over 2014.
• The cruise port in 2016 reported a record year with a total of 682,222 cruise passengers (embarking passengers were excluded), which was a 2% increase over 2015. During 2016, the port was booked by 42 different cruise ship operators and 81 different cruise vessels.
• In 2017, the port handled a total of 330 ship calls and over 700,000 cruise tourists.
• In 2016, Gozo Island received 19 cruise ship calls and around 7,000 passengers.
• With P&O UK's ship Oceana in the Mediterranean during 2017 season, the port had scheduled 27 calls and over 100,000 passengers via P&O's fly-cruise deals (fares inclusive of flights from UK to Malta and back). The port also had another 5 calls with additional 10,000 passengers (visiting Valletta as port of call).
• In 2017, Port Valletta welcomed its 700,000 cruise ship tourist. The 700,000th passenger arrived on MSC Meraviglia. He received a free 3-day Malta vacation package for 2. The package (courtesy of Malta Tourism Authority) was inclusive of flights and 2-night luxury hotel accommodation (provided by The Saint John Hotel).
• By the end of 2017, the cruise port reported a record year with handled 340 ship calls and around 780,000 passengers. For season 2017, here were homeported liners from the fleets of P&O UK and TUI.
• In 2017, Malta's inbound tourism results totaled nearly 2,3 million (15,7 increase over 2016). Total overnights in Malta increased by 10,3%. The tourism industry contributed EUR 1,9 billion to country's economy. As demographics, most cruise ship tourists are from North America (USA and Canada).
• For 2018, Valletta City was designated "European Capital of Culture".
• In 2018, Port Valletta handled nearly 800,000 cruise tourists. Season's highlights included Seabourn Ovation's christening ceremony (held here on May 11).

Valletta cruise terminal