Revitalizing Rome for the Jubilee: Construction and Controversy

More than 30 million pilgrims are expected to visit The Vatican city this year, to pass through the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica, opened especially for 2025.

In the Italian capital Rome, which surrounds The Vatican, officials have been planning for years to accommodate the extra tourists, including major disruption for locals, but three months in business leaders are reporting that figures are down 15% on the previous year.

The city's hotel association says accommodation rates are being lowered in the hope it will encourage more non-Jubilee visitors who may have been put off travelling.

But other businesses are cashing in - we hear from faith based tourist groups around the world who say they are doubling their bookings to Rome.

Produced and presented by Daniel Rosney

(Image: Faithful carry a wooden cross on Via della Conciliazione in Rome during the pilgrimage route to the Holy Door of St. Peter's basilica in the Vatican, as part of the Catholic Jubilee Year, on 22/02/25. Credit: Getty Images)