Austria's winter season 2024/25: record bookings despite crises!

Austria's winter season 2024/25: record bookings despite crises!

Wien, Österreich - The winter season 2024/25 in Austria is gratifying according to preliminary data from statistics Austria. The overnight stays in hotels, guest houses and apartments rose by 1.6 % to a total of 72.3 million. Although the figures are still below the 2018/19 preliminary corona level, as 72.9 million overnight stays were recorded, the development is positive overall. Guest instructions increased by 2.8 % to 20.6 million, which indicates increasing popularity of winter vacation.

The increase in foreign holidaymakers, which makes an increase of 3.5 % at 14.6 million, is particularly striking. Domestic visitors also contribute to an increase, here an increase of 1.2 % to 5.92 million was found. According to Tobias Thomas, General Director of Statistics Austria, a positive balance can be drawn despite the general recession and geopolitical uncertainties.

popular destinations and booking trends

The Austrian federal states of Tyrol and Salzburg dominate winter tourism with a total of 57.9 % of all overnight stays. Tyrol recorded 26.4 million overnight stays, followed by Salzburg with 15.5 million and Vienna, which can come up with an increase of 10.3 % to 8.9 million overnight stays. In contrast, Carinthia and Upper Austria show slight declines.

The bookings are particularly high at the beginning of the year, since 46 % of the total overnight stays took place in January and February. Despite increasing the bookings, the stays of the guests have tended to be shorter. This could indicate a changed demand for flexibly designed vacation plans.

winter tourism in change

Winter tourism in Austria has changed a lot in recent years. After the Corona pandemic, sales in the 2022/2023 season, around 13.3 billion euros, began to recover. The number of guests rose to around 20 million, but the overnight rate rose compared to before 2019, but fewer guests were recorded longer stays and higher expenses. After all, winter tourism is also known for city trips and wellness stays.

activities such as skiing and snowboarding remain very much in demand. Statistics show that Austria's largest ski area, Ski Arlberg, is still a popular choice with a slope length of 302 km, despite comparatively high ski pass prices. In 20222/2023, the cable cars in Austria promoted around 522 million people.

The booking situation for the coming semester break is "extremely good", and with the satisfactory snow conditions, the prospects for the 2024/25 winter season are promising. Nevertheless, the rising costs remain a challenge for many companies in the industry.

Finally, it should be noted that the winter season 2024/25 has already started in Austria. November and December 2024 recorded 18.17 million overnight stays and 6.12 million guests. These numbers indicate that winter tourism in Austria is on the right track and could continue to recover. You can find more information on these topics at vienna.at , Statista and Kurier .