THE OFFICIAL VATICAN TRAVEL
FOR THE FIRST TIME: OPERA ROMANA, THE OFFICIAL VATICAN TRAVEL AGENCY, OPERATES SIX WEEKLY CHARTER FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL, BEGINNING 26.3.08
New charter flights from Naples, Sicily, Bergamo and Brescia will add tens of thousands of seats to existing capacity, providing an answer to the increase in Catholic tourism from Italy: February 2008 saw 70% increase in tourism from Italy
Efforts by the Ministry of Tourism to increase pilgrim traffic to Israel and increase the number of visitors to Israel’s Christian religious sites have borne fruit. Tomorrow (26 March 2008), Opera Romana, the Vatican’s official travel agency and one of the largest Catholic agencies in the world, will begin operating six weekly charter flights from Italy to Israel. Tourism Ministry representatives at Ben Gurion Airport will greet the pilgrims arriving on the inaugural flight, present them with a small gift and escort them through their entry into Israel. The Vatican travel agency has chartered planes from Mistral Air which will carry the Opera Romana logo – a fact that bears witness to the enormous potential that Opera Romana sees in this route.
Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Shaul Tzemach estimates that the new initiative from Opera Romana will add another 7,000 bed-nights per week throughout Israel and in Bethlehem. „The Catholic pilgrim is interested in visiting the traditional pilgrimage sites in Israel that are sacred to Christianity. The Ministry of Tourism will continue to work to develop further aviation routes into Israel and to increase both flight capacity and the number of cities from which the flights originate in order to enable many more tourists to visit Israel.”
About 500,000 pilgrims visited Israel during 2007, an increase of 25% over the previous year. During January-February 2008, about 80,000 pilgrims visited Israel, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2007. An impressive increase in incoming tourism was also registered from Italy: some 5,000 tourists arrived in Israel from Italy during February 2008, 70% more than February 2007.
The additional Opera Romana charters join other new charter flights operated by IOT, that began flying out of Bergamo and Brescia in North East Italy earlier this month; Oby Whan from Sicily (as of May 2008) and SITI from Naples (during the summer months). The Ministry of Tourism estimates that these flights, in addition to the existing flights, will significantly increase the numbers of incoming Christian tourists in general and pilgrims in particular.
The finishing touches are currently being put in place for the fifth annual Peace Marathon, aimed at encouraging peace in the region and increasing pilgrim traffic to the Holy Land. The marathon, which is dedicated to the memory of the Pope John Paul II, will begin in Bethlehem on Passover Eve (18 April) and end on the steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
BreuerPress
New charter flights from Naples, Sicily, Bergamo and Brescia will add tens of thousands of seats to existing capacity, providing an answer to the increase in Catholic tourism from Italy: February 2008 saw 70% increase in tourism from Italy
Efforts by the Ministry of Tourism to increase pilgrim traffic to Israel and increase the number of visitors to Israel’s Christian religious sites have borne fruit. Tomorrow (26 March 2008), Opera Romana, the Vatican’s official travel agency and one of the largest Catholic agencies in the world, will begin operating six weekly charter flights from Italy to Israel. Tourism Ministry representatives at Ben Gurion Airport will greet the pilgrims arriving on the inaugural flight, present them with a small gift and escort them through their entry into Israel. The Vatican travel agency has chartered planes from Mistral Air which will carry the Opera Romana logo – a fact that bears witness to the enormous potential that Opera Romana sees in this route.
Director General of the Ministry of Tourism Shaul Tzemach estimates that the new initiative from Opera Romana will add another 7,000 bed-nights per week throughout Israel and in Bethlehem. „The Catholic pilgrim is interested in visiting the traditional pilgrimage sites in Israel that are sacred to Christianity. The Ministry of Tourism will continue to work to develop further aviation routes into Israel and to increase both flight capacity and the number of cities from which the flights originate in order to enable many more tourists to visit Israel.”
About 500,000 pilgrims visited Israel during 2007, an increase of 25% over the previous year. During January-February 2008, about 80,000 pilgrims visited Israel, an increase of 30% over the same period in 2007. An impressive increase in incoming tourism was also registered from Italy: some 5,000 tourists arrived in Israel from Italy during February 2008, 70% more than February 2007.
The additional Opera Romana charters join other new charter flights operated by IOT, that began flying out of Bergamo and Brescia in North East Italy earlier this month; Oby Whan from Sicily (as of May 2008) and SITI from Naples (during the summer months). The Ministry of Tourism estimates that these flights, in addition to the existing flights, will significantly increase the numbers of incoming Christian tourists in general and pilgrims in particular.
The finishing touches are currently being put in place for the fifth annual Peace Marathon, aimed at encouraging peace in the region and increasing pilgrim traffic to the Holy Land. The marathon, which is dedicated to the memory of the Pope John Paul II, will begin in Bethlehem on Passover Eve (18 April) and end on the steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
BreuerPress
