Praying for an American Pope
"We’re rooting for an American pope," read the headline in La Reppubica on Tuesday, as the Roman travel industry keeps its fingers, well, crossed.
Roman hotels already are full as tourists and Catholics flock to be where history is made.
But "the word around the Vatican is that an American is best" for the local tourism industry, the paper said.
U.S. tourists are always welcome to bring their dollars here. Latin Americans make up 40% of the world’s Catholics.
In a traditionally slow season for travel, Rome already is happy to be hosting clergy from around the world and 5,000 foreign journalists.
Hotel bookings in the city rose more than 10% when Benedict XVI first announced he was stepping down, and one travel site reported a 60% increase in inquiries from Germany, the International Herald Tribune reported.
This morning, gambling website PaddyPower.com had Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson in the lead, at 2:1 odds, followed by Italian Archbishop Angelo Scola at 3:1. But next were Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer and Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
The top two contenders from the US, Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan and Cardinal Sean O’Malley, were tied at 20:1.
But anything can happen in the next few days. The future of Rome’s travel industry rests, of course, in God’s hands.
By Cheryl Rosen
Cheryl
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025