Federal government saves tourism: measures against a shortage of skilled workers!

Federal government saves tourism: measures against a shortage of skilled workers!

Österreich - The Federal Government of Austria decided on April 30, 2025 to support the catalog of measures to support domestic tourism. This initiative aims to secure the success of the Austrian tourism industry in the long term and to actively address the resulting challenges. The measures include an increase in seasonal contingents for tourism companies and the introduction of a special funding fund for tourism employees.

A central goal of these measures is to win more workers for Austria's tourism companies. The shortage of skilled workers in the industry is a serious problem that is to be combated with these new regulations. In addition, the planned steps are created by planning security for companies in the tourism industry, which is seen as a decisive factor for the Austrian economy, such as [ots.at] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250430_ots0123/marchetti-die- Bundesgunde-Den-ferei- Tourismus-sustainable-AB) reported.

meaning of tourism for the Austrian economy

The tourism sector is a central economic factor in Austria. In 2023, over 93,000 companies in the tourism and leisure industry generated impressive 14% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism contributed around 29.5 billion euros and the leisure industry around 37.3 billion euros, which is a total of around 6.2% or 7.8% of GDP, so marie.wko.at.

In Austria, tourism ensures 678,300 full -time jobs, which corresponds to 16.6% of all jobs in Austria. The importance of the industry is also evident in the overnight figures: In 2023, the country recorded around 151 million overnight stays, with almost three quarters of these overnight stays out of international guests. The proportion of low-season native has increased from 13% to over 20% since the 1970s, which underlines the year-round relevance of the sector.

international guests and income

The strong increase in overnight stays in the winter season is particularly remarkable. In 2023, Austria achieved a place among the top 10 most popular travel destinations with 31 million international arrivals. The most popular countries of origin of international guests are Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

The financial effects of tourism are also considerable: in 2023 tourists spent over 35.9 billion euros in Austria, of which 62.1% came from international visitors. The average daily expenditure amounts to 215 euros in summer and 239 euros in winter. Vienna and Vorarlberg in particular benefited from these increased income, which further reinforces the positive economic development of the region.