Viennese tourism officials plan to invest 14 million Euros on marketing across the globe this year.
The city’s tourism agency said yesterday (Mon) it was considering promoting holidays in Vienna in 23 countries in 2012. Tourism officials may also concentrate on trying to increase the number of Austrian guests to the city. Figures show that the number of overnight stays by Austrians dropped by seven per cent to 2.09 million from 2010 to 2012. At the same time, the number of tourists and congress participants coming to Vienna from China and Russia is on the rise. The number of overnight stays by Chinese travellers soared by 32 per cent last year. Hotels recorded 36 per cent more overnight stays by Russians in 2011 than in 2010.
The city’s tourism agency explained yesterday that hotels and guesthouses situated in Vienna’s 23 districts counted more than eight million overnight stays in eight months of last year. The organisation underlined that such strong performances were achieved only in May, July, August and September some years ago. The agency added that April, June, October and December – when several tradition-rich Christmas markets draw the crowds – joined the group of months of prosperity last year.
Around 11.4 million overnight stays took place in the Austrian capital last year – more than ever before. Experts are optimistic that many hotels also managed to increase their turnovers – despite concerns that a rising number of tourism sector businesses were engaging in price wars to keep their reservation numbers up. Final figures on hotels’ turnovers will be presented soon. Data for the first 11 months of 2011 show that Vienna’s hotels achieved a turnover of 446.7 million Euros altogether, 9.2 per cent more than during the same period of 2010.
Petra Stolba, chairwoman of the Austrian Tourism Marketing Agency (ÖW), warned yesterday that “2012 will not be a walk in the park” for the domestic tourism sector. Experts make aware of surveys showing that a stagnation of overnight stays was possible in the coming years due to economic uncertainties across the globe.
Fears that the European economy would plunge back into recession may tempt many vacationers to reduce their number of overnight stays – a trend Austrian hotel bosses registered already last year and in 2010. At the same time, many people are expected to remain generous when it comes to choosing their holiday destinations in times which force them to tighten their belts day by day.
Research discloses that vacationers prefer to stay high quality accommodation and spend less on restaurant visits during their stays. An increasing number of holidaymakers are opting for shorter stays. Analysts explain that many people who might have gone abroad for two weeks a year reduce their vacations to five days of skiing and a long weekend in a city or at a lake in the summertime.
A new report by the United Nations (UN) claims that the number of people going on holiday is set to shoot up to 1.8 billion in 2030. Around 940 million did so last year – significantly more than in 1960 when only 70 million people from all over the world could afford a holiday.
