VIENNA LOOKS TO HASTEN INBOUND VISITS

Despite the Austrian capital always being likely to attract a large number of visitors due to its charm and the fact that the whole centre is a UNESCO heritage site, the Vienna tourist board is keen to urge tourists to visit now rather than later. It seems that the supposed eternal charm has also its downfall. Many tourists having visited or planning to visit the Austrian capital say that a major plus point for the city is its eternal charm. This is the same as if people would say there is no rush in visiting Stonehenge, as it will always be there. This discovery of such attitude was made by the Vienna tourist board, which asked around 11000 visitors what their opinion of the magical city is. Eternal beauty and charm nearly always came up.However, this is now seen as a disadvantage as people are not rushing to get to Vienna. It seems to often be on the list of places to see yet not necessarily now. The Viennese tourist board has reacted to this situation by introducing a “now or never” campaign, trying to urge potential visitors that the best time to come is now and that the classic beauty may not last forever.Indeed, like most European cities, Vienna is undoubtedly changing and its centre does not particularly look the way it did 15 years ago. The trendy “sand in the city” area on the Danube canal is an example of the way modernisation is inevitable. The new campaign has been launched in countries with the traditionally high amount of inbound tourists. For example, the “now or never” slogan recently appeared on the side of a London bus. The British market is hugely important for Austria, thus targeted first.