Austrian Tourism is extremely resistant to crisis. After the drop of 1.8 percent in 2009, the number of overnight stays in Austria is growing steadily. Further rise is expected.
Klaus Ennemoser, the chairman of the Association for hotel industry in the Economic Chamber Austria (WKO) says that despite the long spells of rain, the results of overnight stays in May 2010 were very good. There was an increase of 1 percent in the overnight stays in Austria from January to May 2010. A slight decrease was expected for June 2010 due to the football championship in South Africa, but the number of overnight stays is expected to increase in June, August and September again.
Nevertheless the number of overnight stays is not the only thing to be concerned about. The utilization and prizes is another very important factor. Mr. Ennemoser claims that what Austria needs is a better marketing and advertising support. Domestic campaign, which has cost 3 million euros already, should continue for another 2 or 3 years.
The potential of Austrian guests is far from exhausted. According to Mr. Ennemoser hotels could have at least 3 million overnight stays in the domestic market. Currently, not even one in three holidaymakers in the Austrian accommodation facilities comes from Austria. The Austrians spend more than 30 million nights abroad annually. In 2009, the number of foreign and domestic overnight stays decreased by 1.8 percent to 124.3 million but that is expected to change in 2010.
