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Tag: tourism in austria

  • Nights spent in Vienna registered a whopping 74% decrease in 2020

    Nights spent in Vienna registered a whopping 74% decrease in 2020

    In 2020, 97.91 million nights spent in Austria were registered, according to preliminary results from the Statistics Office.

    This corresponds to a 54.75 million or 35.9% decrease compared to the previous year.

    The number of arrivals fell by 45.8% to 25.04 million (non-resident guests: -52.7%; resident guests: -30.5%).

    The highest drop in nights spent in absolute figures was recorded among guests from Germany (-18.21 million), the most important market of origin for Austrian tourism, followed by the Netherlands (-2.94 million), Switzerland and Liechtenstein (-1.78 million), the Czech Republic (-1.18 million), Belgium (-1.16 million) and the United Kingdom (-2.20 million).

    Vienna toursim was hit hardest

    The decrease by federal states varied. With -74.0%, Vienna was hit hardest, while Carinthia (-17.1%), Burgenland (-27.2%) and Styria (-24.5%) closed the calendar year 2020 with significantly lower declines.

    While nights spent by non-resident guests decreased in all federal states, there was an increase in resident guests in Carinthia (+5.4%).

    By types of accommodation, in hotels and similar accommodations the decrease was over 40%. In commercial holiday dwellings and private holiday dwellings the decrease was 22.6% or 23.6%.

  • Sharp decline of bed occupancy in Austrian lodging establishments

    Sharp decline of bed occupancy in Austrian lodging establishments

    Bed occupancy in Austrian lodging establishments was 30.5% in the 2019/20 winter season (November 2019 to April 2020), down 7.2 percentage points from the previous season.

    In commercial accommodation establishments, with the exception of camping, occupancy was 33.3% (-8.4 percentage points), while in private establishments it was 22.5% (-3.8 percentage points), according to Statistics Austria.

    Commercial lodging establishments (excluding camping) were just as affected in Corona Summer 2020, with a drop of 15.8 percentage points and an occupancy rate of 26.3%, as private establishments, which had an occupancy rate of 18.0%, 3.3 percentage points lower than in the previous summer.

    More accommodation establishments and beds

    In the tourism year 2019/20 (November 2019 to October 2020), around 1.14 million beds were available in 68.402 accommodation establishments (not including camping).

    Thus, the number of beds rose by 0.9% and the number of establishments by 1.5% compared to the previous year. 50.6% of the available beds were registered in Tyrol (352,010; +0.4%) and Salzburg (226,675; +1.7%).

    73.5% of the total number of beds available in the 2019/20 tourism year were in commercial and 26.5% in private establishments; 81.5% of the nights spent were in commercial and 18.5% in private accommodation.

    However, there were significantly fewer commercial (32.5% of all accommodation establishments; including camping) than private establishments (share: 67.5%).

    Highest number of beds per 1.000 inhabitants in Obertauern and Ischgl

    The largest bed providers were Vienna (82.465 beds in winter 2019/20 and 81.377 in summer 2020), followed by Saalbach-Hinterglemm (winter: 17.696), and the city of Salzburg with 16.121 beds in summer.

    The highest number of beds per 1 000 inhabitants had Obertauern (12.791 in winter) and Ischgl (7.154 in summer).

    The highest share of private beds was recorded in Zell am See (winter: 34.8%, summer: 36.1%).

    The commercial bed share was highest in the city of Salzburg (winter 97.7% and summer 97.6%).

    The average size of accommodation establishments in Salzburg was 84 beds per accommodation establishment in winter and 81 beds in summer, the lowest was in winter in Schladming, Zell am See and St. Anton am Arlberg with 17 beds per accommodation establishment.

  • Overnight stays in Vienna dropped by 84.5% in October

    Overnight stays in Vienna dropped by 84.5% in October

    Vienna’s overnight stays in October were 84.5% lower than in the previous year and reached only 242,000.

    Most overnight stays were recorded from the domestic market (123,000, -59%).

    The results from the other markets of origin that are the most profitable in the course of 2020 are 30,000 overnight stays (-91%), followed by Italy (9,000, -83%), Great Britain (5,000, -92%), France (6,000, -85%), the USA (4,000, -96%), Spain (3,000, -95%), Switzerland (4,000, -92%), Poland (8,000, -48%) and Russia (2,000, -95%).

    Arrivals fell by 85.3% to 105,000.

    The average occupancy of hotel beds fell to 11.8% (10/2019: 64.7%), those of the rooms to around 15% (10/2019: around 84%).

    A total of around 55,000 hotel beds were available in Vienna in October, which was around 11,000 beds (-17%) less than in the same month of the previous year.

    Between January and October, 4.4 million overnight stays were counted, a decrease of 69.6%.

  • How the Austrians spent their holidays this year

    How the Austrians spent their holidays this year

    According to Statistics Austria, the number of holiday trips of Austrians with at least one overnight stay (including visits to relatives and friends) was nearly halved this year compared to the first six months of 2019 (-42.7% to 5.59 million).

    The decline is mainly due to the second quarter of 2020 (-61.3%), with domestic trips falling by 27.9% and trips abroad by even 91.2% in this quarter.

    The proportion of people with at least one holiday trip decreased in the first quarter of 2020 by 7.4 percentage points to 30.0%, in the second quarter of 2020 by 26.7 percentage points to 19.8%.

    Half of the trips lead to Italy, Croatia and Germany

    In the first half of 2020, people residing in Austria spent more than three quarters of their holiday trips (76.0% or 4.25 million) in Austria, which was a decrease of 21.8% compared to the first half of 2019. For short holiday trips between one and three overnight stays, the domestic share was 81.4%.

    The number of holiday trips abroad decreased by 69% to 1.34 million in the first half of 2020 (short trips: -58.9%; main trips: -75.2%).

    The decline in holiday trips in the first half of 2020 was particularly marked for popular international destinations like Germany (-60.2%), Hungary (-28.9%), Italy (-86.4%) and Croatia (-79.0%).

    The number of long-distance trips (holiday trips outside Europe and Turkey) decreased by 57.6% to 179.000.

    More than one third of holiday trips to visit family and friends

    Due to Easter, the proportion of visits to relatives and friends during this travel period is traditionally very high and was also the most important travel motive in the first six months of 2020: 38.8% of all holiday trips abroad were made for this reason (first half of 2019: 21.9%), for domestic trips this share was 35.1% (first half of 2019: 32.3%).

    The proportion of free accommodation was correspondingly high: 44.1% of all holiday trips were spent with friends or family or at second homes (first half of 2019: 29.8%), for domestic holiday trips the share was even 45.6%. 40.8% of the holiday trips were spent in hotels or similar establishments.

    Furthermore, travel motives differ depending on the destination: For domestic holiday trips, the second most important travel motive after visiting friends and family was sportive activity holidays (33.1%), 14.1% looked for recreation, 4.2% chose wellness and beauty.

    The main reasons for travelling abroad – apart from visits to family and friends – were cultural trips (20.9%) and sportive activity holidays (9.5%).

    Private car most frequently used for travelling

    In the first half of 2020, the private car was still the most frequently used means of transport for travel: 83.3% of domestic trips and 48.9% of holiday trips abroad were made by car.

    The proportion of vacations for which people travelled by car is thus higher than in the same period of the previous year (77.7% of domestic trips and 43.7% of trips abroad).

    The share of air travel abroad decreased from 37.6% to 33.7%, especially in favor of travelling by car (increase from 43.7% to 48.9%). The number of flights abroad fell by almost three quarters (-72.2%).

  • Austrian tourism revenues fell by 31,7% this year

    Austrian tourism revenues fell by 31,7% this year

    From May to August, tourism revenues in Austria fell by 31.7 percent compared to the previous year, Heute reports.

    The corona crisis has caused massive slumps in Austrian tourism. According to an estimate by the Vienna Economic Research Institute (WIFO), tourism revenues fell by a nominal 31.7 percent to EUR 7.22 billion between May and August compared to the same period of the previous year.

    The biggest drop was in Vienna (minus 81.1 percent) and the lowest in Carinthia (minus 13.7 percent). Styria (minus 17.4 percent) and Burgenland (minus 18.4 percent) recorded a relatively low decline in tourism revenues between May and September.

  • The number of nights spent in Austria decreased by 17.4% in July

    The number of nights spent in Austria decreased by 17.4% in July

    In Austria, the number of nights spent in July 2020 decreased by 17.4% to 15.50 million, as preliminary results from Statistics Austria show.

    While the number of nights spent by non-resident guests fell by 28.7% to 9.93 million, that of resident guests rose by 15.2% to the highest value ever recorded for the second most important month of the summer season (5.57 million).

    Apart from the increase in nights spent by residents, the relatively small decline in German nights spent by 4.3% to 6.73 million is remarkable in view of the COVID-19 crisis.

    The overall decrease in nights spent in July is mainly due to the absence of guests from other important countries of origin, including the Netherlands (-21.7%), Belgium (-30.3%), the Czech Republic (-28.1%), Poland (-27.8%), Hungary (-43.5%), France (-55.7%) and Italy (-66.4%).

    Nights spent by tourists from the USA, Sweden and Russia even fell by more than 90%.

    Arrivals in accommodation establishments also decreased by 26.6% to 3.95 million, with the number of non-resident guests falling by 40.9% and that of resident guests rising by 9.4%.

    High declines in Vienna, increases of nights spent in Burgenland, Styria and Carinthia

    With -73.3%, the decline of nights spent in the federal capital Vienna was most pronounced in July. Declines were also registered in Lower Austria (-22.0%), Upper Austria (-16.7%), Salzburg (-21.5%), Tyrol (-14.3%) and Vorarlberg (-10.8%).

    By contrast, the July result developed positively in the federal states of Burgenland (+4.1%), Styria (+2.0%) and Carinthia (+0.1%), with nights spent by domestic guests contributing to this growth (+19.7%, +22.8% and +35.6%, respectively).

    The development of nights spent by foreign guests was negative in all federal states.

  • Vienna’s tourism dramatic decline continued in June

    Vienna’s tourism dramatic decline continued in June

    Vienna’s tourism dramatic decline continued in June with overnight stays falling by 88.0% to just 190.000.

    In the first half of the year, the decline caused by Covid-19 was correspondingly lower, with a decrease of 65% or 2.8 million overnight stays, thanks to the still positive months of January and February.

    In the period January to May, the turnover of accommodation establishments fell by an equally drastic decrease of 63% to EUR 133 million.

    After the ban on accommodation for tourist purposes until the end of May, tourism in Vienna started only slowly in June: Vienna’s accommodation establishments had 190.000 overnight stays in June, which is 88% less than in the same month of the previous year.

    At 47%, almost half of this income came from Austria (89.000 overnight stays, – 68%).

    There was also a modest increase in the DACH region: in June, Vienna counted 52.000 overnight stays (- 84%) from Germany, and 6.000 (- 85%) from Switzerland.

    All of the other countries from Vienna’s top 10 of the most night-time markets (USA, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, China, France, Russia) brought declines beyond the 90% mark.

    The average occupancy of hotel beds was extremely low in June at 14.2% (6/2019: 65.9%), and that of the rooms was around 18% (6/2019: around 85%).

    A total of around 39.000 hotel beds were available in Vienna in June 2020, around 42% less than in June of the previous year.

  • Overnight stays in Vienna fell by 97.5% in May to only 39.000 people

    Overnight stays in Vienna fell by 97.5% in May to only 39.000 people

    Overnight stays in Vienna fell by 97.5% to 39,000, while arrivals fell by 98.1% to 14,000 in May 2020.

    From January to May, 2.603.000 overnight stays were counted, a decrease of 59.3%.

    In Austria, the ban on tourist accommodation was in force until 28 May.

    Vienna’s accommodation establishments had 39.000 overnight stays in May, 97.5% less than in the same month of the previous year, about half of which came from Austria.

    The average occupancy of hotel beds fell to 4.5% (05/2019: 65.2%), those of the rooms to around 6% (05/2019: around 84%).

    A total of around 25.000 hotel beds were available in Vienna in May 2020, around 62% less than in the same month of the previous year.

    The net overnight turnover of Vienna’s accommodation establishments fell by 94.9% to EUR 4,869,000 in April – data for May are not yet available.

    From January to April, the companies generated EUR 128,523,000, down 51.2% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

  • Austria: Number of overnight stays in April dropped by 96.5%

    Austria: Number of overnight stays in April dropped by 96.5%

    According to preliminary data by Statistics Austria, the number of overnight stays in April 2020 dropped by 96.5% or 7.92 million compared to April 2019 to 287 000.

    Due to the shutdown of accommodation establishments and border closings since mid of March 2020 almost no overnight stays were registered in the last one and a half months of the 2019/20 winter season.

    The number of overnight stays for the entire winter season 2019/2020 (November to April) fell by 18.1% to 59.72 million and corresponds to the overnight stay volume of the 2006/07 winter season with 59.38 million overnight stays.

    The number of nights spent in the current calendar year 2020 (January to April) decreased by 24.9% to 42.30 million, the number of arrivals by 31.9% to 9.97 million.

  • Overnight stays in Vienna decreased by 98.2% in April

    Overnight stays in Vienna decreased by 98.2% in April

    Overnight stays in Vienna have shrunk by 98.2% to only 29.000 last month. From January to April, 2.564.000 overnight stays were counted, which means a drop of 46.8%.     

    Since April 4, accommodation businesses have no longer been able to accept leisure guests and the lockdown in mid-March has largely brought business trips to a standstill. 

    Vienna’s accommodation providers registered 29.000 overnight stays in April, 98.2% less than in the same month of the previous year, almost half of which came from Austria. 

    Arrivals decreased by 99.2% to 5.628. The average occupancy of the hotel beds fell to 4.5% (04/2019: 67.5%), that of the rooms to around 6% (04/2019: around 87%). 

    A total of around 17.100 hotel beds were available in Vienna in April 2020, around 74% less than in the same month last year. 

    The turnover of overnight stays by accommodation providers in Vienna fell in March – data for April are not yet available – by 79% to 14.017.000 euros. 

    From January to March, the companies generated EUR 123.654.000, 26.5% less than in the corresponding period in 2019. 

  • Austrian summer tourism depends on German and local guests

    Austrian summer tourism depends on German and local guests

    Around two thirds of overnight stays in Austria in summer 2019 were accounted for by German and Austrian guests, as Statistics Austria reports.

    The share of resident guests in relation to the total of 79 million nights spent in the period from May to October 2019 amounted to 29.5%, guests from Germany accounted for 37.4% and guests from all other countries 33.1%.

    In 2019, half (49.3%) of all nights spent in the summer season took place in the main season in July and August, around a quarter each in the pre-season months May and June and the post-season months September and October.

    The western Austrian Laender Vorarlberg and Tyrol are highly dependent on the German market.

    Western Austria is the engine of the tourism industry

    Half of all nights spent in the summer season 2019 (50.7%) took place in the western Austrian Laender Tyrol (28.0%), Salzburg (17.4%) and Vorarlberg (5.3%). While these regions depend to a large extent on German guests (54.8%, 40.9% and 58.4% of all summer overnight stays in 2019 in the respective Austrian Laender), resident tourists dominate in eastern parts of the country such as Burgenland (nights spent share: 73.5%), Lower Austria (62.3%), Styria (60.4%) and also Upper Austria (52.1%). In contrast, in the capital Vienna, 63.1% of all nights spent were due to markets other than Germany and Austria.

    In summer 2019, almost three quarters of the 29.5 million nights spent by guests from the most important country of origin, Germany, were in Tyrol (41.1%), Salzburg (19.1%) and Carinthia (12.1%). The third most important market of origin (after Germany and Austria) – the Netherlands – contributed almost 4 million nights spent to the overall result in the 2019 summer season.

    Almost 80% of all nights spent by Dutch guests took place in Tyrol (40.0%), Carinthia (20.3%) and Salzburg (18.0%). Guests from Switzerlandand Liechtenstein particularly liked to spend nights in Tyrol (52.8% of Swiss summer nights spent).

    Styria and Carinthia are particularly popular with resident tourists

    In summer 2019, resident guests accounted for 23.3 million of the nights spent in Austria. The most popular destination of Austrian residents was Styria, almost one fifth of all nights spent by resident tourists took place in this federal state (19.1%), followed by Carinthia (16.7%), Salzburg (13.8%), Lower Austria (12.6%), Upper Austria (12.0%) and Tyrol (10.0%). 

    Residents from Vienna spent 5 million nights in Austria in summer 2019, more than half of them in Styria (20.8%), in Lower Austria (18.0%) and Carinthia (16.8%). Guests from Lower Austria mainly preferred their own region (19.8%), followed by Styria (19.2%).

    One fifth of the total nights spent (23 million) by resident guests in Austria in summer 2019 came from Vienna (21.5%), followed by Lower Austria (19.9%), Upper Austria (17.1%) and Styria (14.6%).

    Upper Austrians recorded the highest proportion of summer overnight stays in their own region (38.6% of nights spent in Upper Austria), followed by guests from Vorarlberg (28.3% of nights spent in their own region) and Styrians (24.9%).