Upper Austria’s tourism industry is hoping for a “winter like back then” despite the pandemic and the wave of inflation that have not yet been fully overcome. “Due to the summer season that has just ended, we are in good spirits,” said Economics and Tourism Councilor Markus Achleitner (VP) at a press conference with industry representatives on Friday morning in Linz. In the months from May to September there were 4.7 million overnight stays – so the pre-crisis level has been reached again. Achleitner considers 2.5 million overnight stays to be realistic for this winter.
A study by the Linz Market Institute is also encouraging. A survey in the federal states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria, which account for three-quarters of overnight stays by domestic guests in Upper Austria, showed that 32 percent of those surveyed would intend to either go skiing or snowboarding this winter – a doubling compared to the previous year.
Contrary to the trend of the past two years, the booking behavior of guests is again more long-term. From this you can see that “Corona no longer plays a role,” says Achleitner.
Number of companies is increasing again
According to Robert Seeber, Federal Division Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for Tourism and Leisure, the number of gastronomy and hotel businesses in Upper Austria has risen again, currently at 7206 there are 250 more businesses than in 2020. The number of dependent employees is also back at the pre-crisis level, even if around 2000 additional employees are being sought in Upper Austria alone. According to Seeber, there are no personnel problems.
Source: Nachrichten
