In Linz, more than a million overnight stays were counted for the first time in 2023

It’s a mark that should have been broken in 2020. But the Corona crisis put a stop to that. In 2023 the time had finally come: more than a million overnight stays were counted in the city of Linz, exactly 1,002,224.

For Marie-Louise Schnurpfeil, Managing Director of Linz Tourismus and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dieter Recknagl – they have both been new in their respective roles since 2023 – this is a reason to be happy, but not to relax. Just looking at the number of overnight stays is not enough, said Schurpfeil at today’s balance sheet press conference. In the future, the topics of tourism satisfaction, value creation in the region and sustainability should play a greater role.

More on the subject: The new Linz tourism director in an interview

This should become clear with the new tourism strategy that is currently being developed. This should be available by the first quarter of 2025 at the latest. The new Linz Tourism logo will be presented beforehand, in autumn. This should then also be present in the new tourist information center at the Old Town Hall. As announced, this will be modernized and rebuilt this year.

Linz as a destination is not only attractive for business travelers, but also for cultural tourists – not least since Linz09 became the Capital of Culture. Thanks to the colorful festival summer in the city, there will no longer be a slump, said City Councilor Doris Lang-Mayerhofer (VP), who is responsible for tourism and culture, and who is looking forward to the super cultural year of 2024.

In 2024, Bruckner will set the tone

Recknagl also expects the European Capital of Culture Salzkammergut to have positive effects on Linz; guests are curious to experience a former and a current Capital of Culture in just one trip. Expectations are also high for this year’s Anton Bruckner anniversary year – under the motto “The sound makes the music”, the composer determines the annual program of the Linz Tourism Association.

There will be many (artistic) formats for following in the footsteps of Anton Bruckner – including the Visit Linz app, where games and tours about Bruckner and his connection to Linz will be offered. Video clips are also planned. Lang-Mayerhofer emphasized that Bruckner has great potential to attract international guests to Linz.
In addition to the anniversary, there will once again be a colorful cultural program with open airs, festivals and exhibitions in Linz this year – including the Pavement Spectacle and the Klangwolke as well as the Lido Festival, which is celebrating its second edition at the Urfahran fairgrounds.

You might also be interested in: The Lido Festival 2024

When it comes to target groups, Schnurpfeil wants to consciously focus on guests from countries that are already well represented on the Linz market. The leaders here (in addition to Austrians) are Germans, Poles and Italians. One demand is to increase public travel by train, but it is also clear that the airport and the Linz-Frankfurt connection, which was canceled in the summer plan, are an important feeder route. “We are waiting for things,” Schnurpfeil hopes for an alternative offer.

With a view to the often criticized shipping tourism, she stated that “Linz is ideal for shipping on the Danube”. The tourism director has plans to establish Linz more strongly as an embarkation and disembarkation point. The aim is for guests to spend one or two nights in Linz before starting their journey or after their return. A similar credo also applies to business tourists who should return to Linz as leisure guests.

Looking at the entire region – Ansfelden and Kirchschlag are also part of the Linz Tourism Association – there were a total of 1,118,000 overnight stays in 2023 (the million were already broken here in 2019). In Kirchschlag and Ansfelden, unlike Linz, there was a minus in the previous year. In the case of Kirchschlag, this was primarily due to the loss of beds due to company closures, it was said today.

Inquired

“Just looking at the number of overnight stays is not enough. We are currently working on our future direction.” – Marie-Louise Schnurpfeil, Managing Director of Linz Tourism

“Linz is perceived as an interesting destination for a variety of travel reasons – also by the
Austrians themselves.” – Dieter Recknagl, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Linz Tourism

“The many open airs and events have
Already shown in 2023 that there will no longer be a summer slump in Linz.” – Doris Lang-Mayerhofer, City Councilor for Culture and Tourism (VP)

Tourism in numbers

• 1,002,224 overnight stays were counted in Linz in 2023 (in 2022 there were 846,071) – in the entire region including Ansfelden and Kirchschlag there were 1,118,0000 (2022: 958,657)
• There were 6,653 beds in Linz last year, and together with Ansfelden and Kirchschlag there are more than 7,600. There have been a number of new openings in Linz in recent years.
• 194,868 of the guests came from Germany in 2023, an important market is also Poland (24,114) Italy (23,903) – and of course the Austrians themselves (490,185).

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