While cost increases and staff shortages pose challenges to the tourism sector, the companies enjoy a large influx of guests. Between May and July, the number of overnight stays reached 39.5 million, the highest number since 1980, according to preliminary data from the Austrian Statistical Office. “In the first half of this year’s summer season, there was more demand for holidays in Austria than ever before,” says Tobias Thomas, head of statistics.
In 1980, the previous peak was reached with more than 40 million overnight stays in domestic accommodation companies: in the time corridor from May to July 2023, the sector had just missed its peak value.
Overnight stays higher than before the Corona pandemic
The upturn in tourism is also clearly visible compared to 2019, before the corona pandemic hit the country: this year, overnight stays were 1.7 percent higher than at that time. At over 6.3 percent, the jump in bookings is even greater than in the same period last year, when 37.16 million overnight stays were registered.
Two thirds of the guests come from abroad
More than two thirds of the overnight stays in the first half of this year’s tourist summer were due to foreign guests. But the Austrians’ desire to go home is only slightly tempered. The number of overnight stays by domestic guests fell by 2.2 percent to 11.96 million. However, a corresponding record value was recorded in 2022.
Only Carinthia with a slight decrease
Looking at the development per state, Vienna and Lower Austria stand out with increases of 19.8 and 10.2 percent in the number of overnight stays. Strong growth was also recorded in Burgenland (plus 9 percent), in the tourist stronghold of Salzburg (plus 8.2 percent), in Vorarlberg (plus 7.2 percent) and in Upper Austria (6.2 percent). In Tyrol, the plus was slightly lower (4.9 percent) and minimal in Styria (0.7 percent). The only decrease was registered in Carinthia with 2 percent.
Development in July extremely positive
The development in July, traditionally the second most important summer month for tourism after August, is an indication of the overall positive trend. More than a quarter of all overnight stays in the summer half year usually fall in July. This year there were 18.7 million, 4.2 percent more than in July 2022. The number of guests arriving at Austrian accommodation establishments has also increased (plus 5 percent to 5.56 million).
If you look at holidaymakers from abroad, there were solid arrivals in July from the Czech Republic (plus 15 percent), Switzerland and Liechtenstein (both plus 7 percent) and Germany (plus 4.7 percent). On the other hand, guests from the Netherlands, the second largest market of origin, stayed in Austria 1.5 percent less often than in July last year.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
