Lower Austria supports gastronomy: funding initiative for inns!

Austrian gastronomy and agriculture are currently experiencing a remarkable boom. In 2024, 33 new restaurants were supported by the state of Lower Austria, with each company receiving a grant of 10,000 euros. These new inns are spread across all of Lower Austria, with a concentration in areas such as the Danube region and the Viennese Alps. A clear condition is fulfilled for the funding: providers must offer regional food and drinks, which in the past caused discussions, for example, since kebab distances were excluded from the funding, as noe.orf.at reported.

Wirtshaus promotion under pressure

Of course, the tavern funding, which supports investments in gastronomy and hotel industry, is also continued. However, the budget was drastically reduced: instead of four million euros, there are only one million euros available. These funding was very much in demand last year, the pot was empty after only six weeks. However, the conditions remain, i.e. that catering businesses can expect a grant of 20 percent of the costs, which was capped to a maximum of 20,000 euros, as also reported by noe.orf.at

At the same time, agriculture in Germany shows remarkable income growth. According to Agrarheute.com , income per labor year 2022/23 has risen by 32.2 percent to around 57,500 euros. This increase is favored by the increase in prices for agricultural products as a result of the Ukraine conflict and shows how agricultural companies have an advantage despite increasing costs due to energy and raw materials. Especially main companies that manage the majority of agricultural areas record the greatest profits that climbed an average of 39 percent to 113,927 euros per company.