eight-year course starting from 2010, measured in millions.
Overall, the total number of visitors witnessed a striking upward trend, which largely stemmed from the considerable overall increase in number of those staying on cruise ships and on island. It is also noticeable that despite some fluctuations, the trend for people on island and on cruise ships was mainly rising, with the former outnumbering the latter in terms of visitor quantities except the last two years.
Regarding the total number of visitors, a figure of one million people was recorded in the first year surveyed, followed by a consistent rise to around 2.75 million in 2015. The total then recorded a period of stability before having witnessed a jump to 3.5 million by 2017.
With reference to the remaining categories, staying on cruise ships during visit gained fluctuating popularity among visitors, having reached 0.5 million by 2013, which doubled its initial figure. Meanwhile, staying on island was increasingly popular from 2011 to 2013, recording a number of 1.5 million after a period of relative stability of 0.75 million in the first two years. From 2013 onwards, the figure for stay on cruise ships continued to rise but to a greater extent, exceeding that for the island in 2016 and eventually reaching 2 million at the end of the period. In the meantime, the other saw almost no changes except for a fall by 0.25 million in 2016, which then recovered the same quantity in 2017.