Vacationers are back!

City tourism in Austria has recovered

City tourism in Austria has largely recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Overnight stays in Vienna and the provincial capitals were 99% of the 2019 level in the previous year, as reported by the City Tourism Working Group.

Specifically, 25.7 million overnight stays were recorded in the nine cities in 2023. This represents an increase of 27% compared to 2022 and was only one percent below the 2019 results. Overnight stays in the capital accounted for 17% of the total. According to ARGE Städtetourismus, this is exactly the figure that was also calculated in 2019.

Vienna with the most overnight stays
Around two thirds of overnight stays in the capital were recorded in Vienna in 2023. This was followed by Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz, Linz, Klagenfurt, Bregenz, St. Pölten and Eisenstadt. Klagenfurt made the biggest leap compared to 2019. The figures there were exceeded by 15 percent. Innsbruck, Graz, Linz and St. Pölten also recorded increases. Bregenz, Eisenstadt, Vienna and Salzburg remained below pre-crisis levels.

The previous year was dominated by city tourism's race to catch up.

Wiens Tourismusdirektor Norbert Kettner

"The previous year was dominated by city tourism's race to catch up. It returned to its long-standing role as a driver of value creation, innovation and a guarantor of year-round jobs," said a delighted Norbert Kettner, Vienna's tourism director, in his role as chairman of the ARGE. He emphasized that there is hardly any other segment in Austrian tourism that relies more heavily on an international audience.