The Pope more popular than Wills and Kate?

The weekend of April 29th is likely to be one of the year’s record dates for European tourism. Two of Europe’s most important capitals, London and Rome, will be stormed by millions of tourists from around the world.

From April 30th to May 2nd, Rome celebrates the beatification ceremony of Pope John Paul II, while on April 29th, London witnesses the most important royal wedding of the last thirty years – the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey.

A recent study of hotel price data for London and Rome by hotel price comparison website trivago.co.uk reveals a sharp rise in prices for that weekend. A standard double room in London over the weekend of April 29th costs an average of 191 pounds per night – an increase of 14% in comparison to the previous and following weekends. In Rome, however, a similar room costs 221 pounds, representing a 44% increase over the neighbouring weekends. Compared to the average price for the same period last year (146 pounds in April 2010), Rome costs 51% more, while London prices are 39% higher than in April 2010 at 137 pounds per night.

In terms of availability, the situation is clearly better in London, where approximately 60% of the city’s hotels which are available online through hotelbooking sites on the weekend of the royal wedding can still be reserved. In Rome, however, availability is much more reduced, with only 30% of the city’s online hotels still available.

For more information and bookings, visit: trivago.co.uk