Alpine summer as a driving force

Tourism experts are optimistic about the new season

The latest German travel analysis points to solid demand for vacations. This was stated by Leo Bauernberger, Managing Director of Salzburger Land Tourismus GmbH (SLTG), at a press conference on Thursday.

He is confident that the positive development of recent years will continue this year. Last summer, the province once again recorded a record summer with 14.4 million overnight stays. A total of 4.2 million guests came.

The length of stay increased slightly, reported Bauernberger at the presentation of the summer campaign. Over a period of ten years, Salzburg has seen a 27 percent increase in overnight stays, while arrivals have risen by 31 percent.

Alpine summer celebrates its 20th anniversary
This year's summer campaign focuses on an anniversary: the Salzburg Alpine Summer has now been a tourist product for 20 years. The partnership between tourism and agriculture has proven to be a successful formula. Today, around 1,800 alpine pastures are still used for agricultural purposes in the province, with around 550 offering hospitality to guests. 20 years ago, there were still just over 2,000 alpine pastures in the province. Although there has also been a decline in the number of mountain pastures still in use in Salzburg, this has been much less than in other regions.

Room for improvement when traveling by train
The SLTG is investing around four million euros in promoting this summer. In addition to the alpine summer, travel by train is a focal point. The car continues to lead the choice of means of transportation with 70 percent. Around ten percent of guests in Salzburg come by train. And even though 37 percent more train tickets were sold for vacations in Salzburg in the important German market last year, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

The tourism experts are satisfied with the end of the winter season. There were 14.7 million overnight stays between November and March, an increase of 2.7 percent compared to 2022/23. Compared to the last winter before the pandemic, there was a tiny decrease of 0.04 percent. In view of the early Easter date, a warm weather phase in February and the construction site on the Tauern freeway, the winter went very well, said Salzburg's Head of Tourism Stefan Schnöll (ÖVP).