Rome Jubilee committed to courtesy and honesty

ITALY (eTN) – Roman hoteliers are organizing to accommodate most of the 25 million pilgrims expected in Rome for the Jubilee by Pope Francis.

ITALY (eTN) – Roman hoteliers are organizing to accommodate most of the 25 million pilgrims expected in Rome for the Jubilee by Pope Francis. Just a few days ago, the signing of a code of ethics covering 10 points was signed by Federalberghi (the Italian Federation of Hoteliers) and Opera Romana Pilgrimages (ORP), the Vatican travel organization for pilgrimage.

It is a protocol identical to that drawn up 15 years ago by Monsignor Ferdinando Belli, then Director of the Office for the Pastoral Care of Tourism Sport and Leisure of the Vicariate of Rome, assisted by Nicholas Cavalcanti, at the time appointed by the Holy Father for Mission Town in tourism.

In view of the Jubilee of the millennium by John Paul II, the document was first approved by the Central Committee for the Jubilee and then circulated to the Incoming Associations of Rome.

The protocol indicates the best way to welcome the pilgrims is with courtesy and attention to their spiritual needs, along with sensitivity to children, the elderly, and less-fortunate people. It provides for the ability to listen in order to give peace and joy through professionalism.

The past skepticism of hoteliers

“Fifteen years ago,โ€ reminds Mons. Cavalcanti, โ€œthe document was met with some skepticism, in particular by the hoteliers, who probably did not understand the sense of ethical protocol and saw it as a limitation in the autonomy of enterprise at [this] important event.”

Due to the fast changing of time, an evolution has occurred in the mentality of hotel managers. This year, the 10 points were resubmitted by the President of Federalberghi, Giuseppe Roscioli, and by the CEO of ORP, Monsignor Liberio Andreatta, and were met with great enthusiasm and no long faces by the hotels of the capital.

Turnover of 5 million euro

For the next Jubilee, 25 million pilgrims are expected to generate over 5 billion euro, that will benefit Rome particularly, despite a strong tendency to sobriety for the choice of accommodation and food, in line with the turn impressed by Pope Francis.

The convents and other Catholic organizations turned into auberges run by nuns will help to maintain fair prices in accommodation.

Rome in the Jubilee year will be by far the most popular religious destination in the world with attendance well above other religious events around the globe among which stands out in Mexico City, where the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe draws 10 million pilgrims each year, and including the shring in Medjugorje, Bosnia, along with events in Jerusalem, Assisi, and Lourdes.

Religious tourists from around the world account for 300 to 330 million a year, with an annual turnover of 18 billion dollars. This is tourism sector with a huge growth potential, according to the UN World Tourism Organization.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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