Pope John Paul II's beatification ceremony will attract more visitors than the Royal Wedding, according to figures released this week by Trivago.
The two events, scheduled for the weekend of April 29, are both set to be marked by an influx in tourist numbers to their respective locations (Rome and London) but Rome is experiencing higher demand, according to the figures.
Trivago calculated that for that weekend, approximately 60 percent of London's hotels which are available online through hotel booking sites can still be reserved - but in Rome, only 30 percent of the city's online hotels are available.
A night in Rome for the weekend of the beatification, which is expected to draw Catholics from all over the world, is currently priced at an average of £227 (€258) a night, said the hotel comparison site.
A room for the night in London around the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton will cost an average of £191 (€217) a night, some 39 percent higher than at the same time last year.
Last week, Vatican officials revised downwards the figures for the Rome ceremony, which will be led by Benedict XVI, saying that they expected 300,000 to turn out on each day, far lower than originally predicted.
London tourist authorities believe some 600,000 visitors could be in the British capital for the wedding, based on the number that arrived for the wedding of Prince William's father and mother in 1981.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
0Comments