Travel and tourism in Austria - statistics & facts
From its classy capital city of Vienna to its picturesque Alpine towns and epic mountain landscapes, Austria’s appeal extends to travelers from all walks of life. In 2023, Austria ranked in a list of the most visited European destinations by international tourists ahead of other travel hotspots, like Portugal and the Netherlands. That said, tourism behemoths France, Spain, and Italy took the top three spots in the ranking. Nevertheless, the number of tourist arrivals in Austria saw an almost full recovery in 2023 from the impact of COVID-19. That year, over 30 million international tourists and 14 million domestic travelers visited the country.
While Austria may offer cities steeped in history and awe-inspiring landscapes, the European tourism industry is extremely competitive. Mediterranean countries, often seen as ideal summer destinations, ranked top in the list of favorite travel destinations in Europe. Although Austria has succeeded in attracting winter tourists, tempting more summer travelers to dip a toe into its famous lakes would be a future goal for the country’s already thriving tourism market.
Winter vs. summer: two travel seasons, one clear market leader
It is no surprise that Austria is often associated with winter tourism, given that it is home to some of the best areas for skiing worldwide. However, some nationalities are more interested in hitting the slopes than others; the nationality that visited Austria the most during winter 2023/24, was the neighboring Germans, staying around 26 million nights. This figure was higher than the combined overnight stays recorded by all other leading inbound markets during that season. The same can be said for the inbound overnight stays in Austria in summer 2023, when Germany came top of the ranking with over 31 million nights. Meanwhile, Dutch visitors recorded the second-highest figure in both seasons and the United Kingdom came in third in winter but only ranked eighth in summer.The importance of Vienna for inbound tourism in Austria
Austria is home to an array of fascinating cities. Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, and Innsbruck, popular among skiers and hikers, were among the most visited Austrian state capitals by inbound travelers in 2023. That said, Vienna’s leading contribution to the country’s inbound tourism market is undisputed. The city attracted nearly six million visitors from abroad in 2023, roughly twice as many as all the other Austrian state capitals combined. This figure made Vienna one of the European destinations with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals that year, ahead of Venice, Milan, and Berlin.While Austria may offer cities steeped in history and awe-inspiring landscapes, the European tourism industry is extremely competitive. Mediterranean countries, often seen as ideal summer destinations, ranked top in the list of favorite travel destinations in Europe. Although Austria has succeeded in attracting winter tourists, tempting more summer travelers to dip a toe into its famous lakes would be a future goal for the country’s already thriving tourism market.
