2017 has been a good year for tourism in Vienna. The Austrian capital registered a record in overnight stays in the first half of the year – 6,924,000. Hotel sales also rose by almost 10 percent this year.
The number of overnight stays increased by 4.2% compared to January – June 2016. In concrete terms, accommodation was estimated to amount to around 277 million euros from January to May. Data for June are not available yet. In contrast, this corresponds to an increase of 9.6%, as confirmed by Tourism Director Norbert Kettner.
Thus, the objectives for 2020 are once again back on track. Tourism in Vienna has so far registered 18 million overnight stays and 1 billion euros in turnover. It is important to point out that visitors from Russia are celebrating a comeback. In the first six months of the year, Vienna welcomed a third more Russians than last year. With a total of 211,000 overnight stays, Russia is now ranked number 7 as the most important source markets.
Kettner explained that the improved flight connections have had the main impact on the upward trend. The seating capacity in the summer plan had risen by 60% compared to 2016.
The tourism director also expects positive effects due to the Brexit. He also pointed out, for example, the recent decision of the low-cost airline Easyjet to establish a third stand in Vienna.
Kettner also sees good opportunities for the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Vienna. The EU agency responsible for authorizations and supervision of medicines must leave London because of UK’s proposed exit from the EU.
On the other hand, there was a slight decline in overnight stays of guests from Great Britain in the first half of the year. This could also be a result of the Brexit.
In order to bring a successful conclusion to 2017, tourism in Vienna intends to make a strong impact on advertising in the second half of the year. A marketing budget of 8.9 million euros is available for this purpose. It will be used in 20 countries, which make up about four-fifths of all overnight stays in Vienna.
The focus is on the most important representatives of Viennese Modernism: Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Otto Wagner and Koloman Moser. They all died in 1918. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of their death, which will be remembered in numerous exhibitions.