Record in Overnight Stays: Vienna Tourism Has Recovered from the Coronavirus Pandemic

With 18.9 million overnight stays, Vienna achieved a new record and for the first time had more overnight stays than in 2019. Compared to 2023, the number increased by nine percent, as the city's tourism advertising announced on Wednesday.

Vienna Tourism: Tourists from China Back in Top 10 After Coronavirus Pandemic

However, the previously important markets of China and Japan have not recovered. The number of overnight stays is still only half as high as before the pandemic. In terms of turnover, Chinese tourists have at least made it back into the top 10. This is good news, "because we only advertise for luxury travellers in China," said Vienna Tourism Director Norbert Kettner. In addition to China and Japan, tourism marketing is now focusing on South Korea.

Over 2 Million Overnight Stays in Vienna in December Alone

The city was particularly full during the Advent season. In December alone, Vienna Tourism recorded just over 2 million overnight stays, for the first time ever. Room occupancy increased from 83 to 87 percent. Over the entire year, it averaged 71 percent. Peter Hanke (SPÖ), the city councillor responsible for tourism, did not want to overestimate the increases in turnover at the press conference, as high inflation also played a role. Even if you factor out inflation, the Viennese hotel industry has been successful in setting prices, said Kettner. From January to November, accommodation turnover was at 1.2 billion euros and 12 percent above the comparative value for 2023. Compared to 2019, turnover increased by 34 percent. The many tourists in the city would have a positive effect on other sectors such as trade, as was recently shown in the Christmas business, the officials emphasized. Hanke can already imagine opening on Sundays, but sees the social partners as responsible and does not expect any rapprochement from them anytime soon.

City of Vienna Attempts to Direct Visitor Flows

In order to better distribute visitor flows throughout the city, the tourism agency is promoting districts outside the city centre, such as the Weißgerberviertel, Margaretenstraße or Gersthof. In addition, it is important to ensure "that group sizes do not get out of hand," said Hanke. For Kettner, traffic calming in the Vienna City is still "at the top of our wish list". This year, the City of Vienna is spending 15.5 million euros on tourism advertising. Advertising is carried out in twelve countries worldwide. These are Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy in Europe, and the USA, Canada, Arab countries, China, Japan and South Korea outside Europe. The number of travellers coming to Vienna by train has increased significantly. While it was around 21 percent in 2018, the share increased to 30 percent by 2024. This is due, as it was said, to the ÖBB, which have developed Vienna into a hub for night trains. There is also a boom in tourists from America, after Austrian Airlines (AUA) expanded their network to include the destination Boston.

(APA/Red)

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