After a few challenging years, tourism in Vienna has shown a positive trend. The Vienna Tourist Board reported a significant increase in the number of overnight stays, with approximately 1.9 million recorded in August, marking an 11 percent increase compared to August 2023.
The Austrian capital city is again particularly popular with tourists from Germany, USA, and Italy. Additionally, there were 270,000 overnight stays from other Austrian regions, with many visitors from Styria, Upper Austria, and Salzburg.
Taylor Swift Effect
The surge in U.S. vacationers can be attributed to the concerts by Taylor Swift and Coldplay, which drew many international fans to Vienna.
In August, there was a significant increase in the number of tourists from USA, with 138,000 visitors, marking a 64 percent rise. This surge is attributed to the introduction of the Boston flight by AUA in July. Vienna relies on air travel for business and tourism, with Americans being the most significant number of guests in the five-star hotels.
In August, hotel room occupancy averaged around 81 percent (up from 78 percent in August 2023), while bed occupancy stood at 64 percent (up from 61 percent in August 2023). Overall, room occupancy for the year increased slightly to around 68 percent, and bed occupancy rose to 52.8 percent.
Twelve Million Overnight Stays since January
In the first half of the year, Viennese accommodation establishments recorded a significant increase in overnight stays, reaching twelve million, a 10 percent increase compared to last year. The city's tourism infrastructure is also growing, with hotel beds expanding by around 8,000 to reach 80,700 beds. From January to July, the turnover of Vienna's accommodation establishments exceeded 700 million euros, marking a significant increase compared to the previous year.