Only second place

Decline in campers due to European Football Championships and weather

Carinthia's campsites already suffered a decline last year. And there are signs of a drop again this year. Nevertheless, tourism experts are still hoping to catch up. Tyrol is now the most popular federal state among campers.

In recent years, Carinthian tourism has had every reason to celebrate. Thanks in part to the camping offer, the number of overnight stays was quite good. This year, however, local tourism experts are concerned about the figures. "We clearly felt the effects of the bad weather in spring and the European Football Championships," says Barbara Tschöscher from Kärnten Werbung. This is also confirmed by the Austrian Camping Club: "Within the camping community, we noticed that many people tended to camp in Germany in June in order to watch a match locally," says President Tomas Mehlmauer.

Due to the bad weather in May and June, campers loved heading to the south of Europe.

Tomas Mehlmauer, Präsident des Österreichischen Camping Clubs

Only in second place
As a result, Carinthian campsites lost a lot of overnight stays. Carinthia recorded around 571,000 overnight stays in the first half of 2024. This means that the southernmost province is no longer one of the most popular camping destinations in Austria. Tyrol recorded around 766,000 overnight stays in the same period. "However, this is also due to the fact that there are many winter campsites in Tyrol," says Tschöscher.

Five million overnight stays

were recorded in all sectors in Carinthia in the first half of 2024. Compared to the previous year, this is a slight decrease of 1.5 percent.

Nevertheless, the local campsite operators and tourism industry are not burying their heads in the sand. "The current booking situation is excellent and we can still make up some ground thanks to the good weather," explains Tschöscher in an interview with the "Krone". It is also assumed that we will be able to secure first place as a camping destination again this year.