A record number of tourists stayed in hotels in Rome this month after a 11% rise for the first four months of the year, city officials said.
"In the month of May alone, two million visitors stayed in hotels in the capital. This was an absolute first," Deputy Major Maria Pia Garavaglia said on Thursday during the presentation of a new phone number which will offer assistance to tourists.
"The more we get good news like this, the more we need initiatives which can simplify services, like this new help-line," she added.
According to Mayor Walter Veltroni, "hotel presences have jumped 11% during the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2006. In two years there has been a 25% jump".
"The upward trend is consistent and this means that things are working well in the city. Tourism prospers because Rome is a nice place to visit," observed Fabrizio Rosciolo, the head of the Rome hotel association.
The new phone number for tourism services is 060608 and it will be operative starting October 1.
