Winter Tourism in Austria Shows Resilience Amid Challenges

Despite facing economic downturns and geopolitical uncertainties, Austria's winter tourism sector has experienced a solid booking season. From November to February, the number of overnight stays increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year, according to reports from tourism expert Oliver Fritz at Wifo.

Although demand from major source markets such as Germany and the Netherlands saw a notable decline, this was offset by an influx of visitors from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the United States. Overall, tourists have been more budget-conscious this winter.

Germany remains the largest market, accounting for 35.1% of overnight stays this winter. However, this represents a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the previous season. The Netherlands, another crucial market, witnessed a 2.7 percentage point drop, bringing its contribution down to 10.4%.

In contrast, the local Austrian market has shown resilience, with its share of overnight stays rising by 3.5 percentage points to 22.2%. Additionally, there have been noticeable increases in bookings from other international markets. The Czech Republic ranked as the third most significant foreign market with a 3.1% share, followed closely by the United Kingdom at 3.1%, Poland at 2.4%, and Hungary at 1.7%, all of which experienced substantial growth.

Interestingly, visitors from the United States have also shown an upward trend, marking the first time they have ranked third among foreign tourists. Reports indicate that there has been a 50% increase in American visitors compared to last year, although they still account for only 1.3% of total bookings. This demographic is considered valuable due to their higher spending power.

Despite these positive developments, challenges remain. The president of the Vorarlberg Chamber of Commerce, Karlheinz Kopf, noted that private consumption as a growth driver has not gained momentum. Efforts to stimulate growth through public funding have not yielded the desired results, and growth expectations are significantly below the EU average.

Furthermore, the current winter booking figures have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Compared to the winter of 2019/20, which was poised to be a record-setting season, overnight stays are currently down by 3.6%. During that period, the season was abruptly interrupted in March and April due to the pandemic, which had a considerable impact on overall performance.

In conclusion, while the Austrian winter tourism sector has demonstrated resilience amidst various challenges, it still faces hurdles in terms of recovering fully to its peak performance levels.