Tourism is booming, but consumers save: Business suffers in 2024!

Tourism is booming, but consumers save: Business suffers in 2024!

Österreich - Local tourism shows a mixed balance in 2024. According to an analysis by the Economic Research Institute (WIFO), the number of overnight stays has increased by 2.1 percent, while the arrivals even increased by 3.3 percent. Despite these quantity progress, tourism has a dampening effect on the overall economic development. The real gross value added in accommodation and gastronomy fell by 3.9 percent, while the overall economy shrank by 1.4 percent. This means that the tourism sector did not act as an economic engine, but rather as a light economic brake.

In 2023, the level of overnight stays from 2019 was exceeded for the first time, but the economic consideration of the sector remains below average. Walter Veit, President of the Austrian Hotel Association, identifies the current figures as a "clear mission" and emphasizes that more guests arrive in Austria, but are more economical with their expenses.

Development in the winter season 2024/25

The 2024/25 winter season is ambivalent. The guest arrivals from November to March increased by 0.8 percent to 17.8 million, while the overnight stays have slightly declined to 64.1 million. This decline is distorted by calendar effects, in particular the shift day in February and the different location of the Easter holidays. Without these effects, there would have been a overnight increase of 4.7 percent.

Binnentourism once again proves to be a stable pillar: the overnight stays of domestic guests rose by 0.6 percent from November 2024 to March 2025, while foreign demand decreased by 1.0 percent. The high inflation in gastronomy and accommodation, with a price increase of 6.0 percent or 5.5 percent, dampens the development of real income.

View into the future

The simulation for the last month of the winter season predicts a strong increase in demand in April in order to compensate for the weak result in March. A total of around 72.0 million overnight stays are expected for the entire 2024/25 winter season, which means an increase of 1.3 percent compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, this is a decline of 1.2 percent compared to the 2018/19 season.

For 2025, a stable overnight development at a high level is predicted, with around 154.6 million overnight stays, which corresponds to an increase of 0.2 percent compared to 2024. Despite the high duties of consumers, however, reserved expenditure is expected, mainly due to economic uncertainties in Austria and Germany. These factors make the anticipation of future tourism developments appear ambivalent.

Overall, tourism increased in terms of quantity in 2024, but at the same time contributed to economic uncertainty. A clear task for the industry itself is necessary to react to the challenges and to remain sustainable. The analog connection between tourism and business remains a central topic for the coming years.