Three causes – the guests come, the problems remain

The innkeepers and hoteliers should not complain: holidays in Austria are in demand this summer, despite the many unfavorable conditions. In July, 17.83 million overnight stays were counted, only 4.9 percent less than in 2019, a record year.

The first half of the summer season (May to July) shows a similar picture. It is gratifying that urban tourism is picking up again. However, there is still a lull in conferences and business trips. A new feature is that even in high season bookings are made at short notice: “You will also hear that from the companies before August: half of the guests make a decision in the short term, half have planned their holiday long in advance.” says State Secretary for Tourism Susanne Krauswinker

Still half a year behind 2019
In July there was a 5% plus for residents (one third of all holidaymakers). 78% of foreigners come from the EU. Overseas tourists are missing, so the bottom line is 8.8% minus. For the entire calendar year 2022 (January to July) we are still 15% behind 2019.

More and more employees, but there is a lack of specialized personnel
Consumers seem to have accepted that prices have increased by an average of 9%. But the shortage of skilled workers remains a major problem. “Especially in gastronomy, there is a lack of cooks, waiters and assistants,” says Kraus-Winkler. It is remarkable that the number of people working in tourism has been increasing for years (see graph above).

According to Kraus-Winkler, there are three reasons for this:

• The industry is growing, there are more companies.
• The number of part-time employees has increased. There are more heads, but they work fewer hours.
• Lack of productivity: More and more unskilled workers are replacing the missing skilled workers. For example, they are not as quick to serve and need more time for their activities.

“Needs more staff from third countries”
The proportion of foreigners in the labor force is already more than 50 percent and increasing. Kraus-Winkler: “We will need more personnel from third countries, especially in the EU candidate countries in the Balkans there is potential.”

High energy costs will now hit companies hard in the autumn. “In the hospitality industry, especially in Vienna, I know some who are even considering closing because of it,” says Kraus-Winkler. There is a subsidy for SMEs for “energy-intensive companies”, which should also be available to innkeepers and hoteliers. But Kraus-Winkler thinks that the total of 450 million euros is not enough. You are entitled if the energy costs are higher than three percent of the production value, details are still open.