Lounging and doing nothing is usually not on the agenda for holidaymakers in Austria. Anyone who spends the holidays here wants to be active. According to experts, in no other country in the EU is sport such an important factor for employment, growth and prosperity as in Austria. Active travelers are thus an important group of visitors for the Austrian tourism sector.
In Austria, 8% of overnight stays in accommodation facilities are classified as “relevant for sport”. In total, domestic tourism regarding active travelers reaches 62 million overnight stays annually. This is roughly equivalent to the total tourism in, for example, Croatia or Poland.
The main contribution was provided by winter sports departments. In the summer season, the active holidaymakers come for hiking, mountain biking and climbing. E-bike driving is also becoming increasingly popular, while in the cold season, tourists do alpine, Nordic or gentle winter sports.
In the 2016/17 season 44.7 million vacation rentals were recorded in domestic winter sport destinations. Just under three quarters of them came from tourists from Europe. In total, there were 62.9 million Alpine skiers in Europe in 2017, according to data provided. Of the total of 1637 ski resorts, 254 are in Austria. The majority (more than 1100) are attributable to the Alpine countries.
Winter sports primarily benefit accommodation facilities, catering trade and trade as a whole. According to data, trade accounted for two-thirds of total Austrian tourism revenue in 2017. Almost one fifth of the revenue was collected by cable car companies.
However, jobs and added value are also created in the field of cultural and entertainment services, in the manufacturers of sport equipment and in mechanical engineering. For example, in the manufacturing of cable cars, snow groomers and snow-making systems. Active travelers are thus more than welcome in the country.