Carinthia's tourism in crisis: lack of ideas despite 1,000 lakes!

Carinthia's tourism in crisis: lack of ideas despite 1,000 lakes!

Carinthia, known for its breathtaking landscape and over 1,000 lakes, is facing a challenge in the tourism industry. Last year the region recorded 13.4 million overnight stays, which seems rather modest compared to other popular destinations such as Tyrol with 49.9 million and South Tyrol with 37.2 million. According to marketing professional Alois Gmeiner, Carinthia lacks innovative approaches that could boost tourism. Gmeiner, who works as an advertising therapist, urgently calls for a realignment of marketing strategies.

In a current analysis, Gmeiner criticizes tourism management in Carinthia and emphasizes that despite the presence of an agency called “Innovation Management”, no fresh ideas are being implemented. He emphasizes that other Austrian regions such as Tyrol, Salzburg and South Tyrol are now achieving guest records, while Carinthia is lagging behind in development.

Declines in arrivals and overnight stays

In the summer season of May and June 2023, 2,337,468 overnight stays were registered in Carinthia, which corresponds to a decrease of 3.2 percent compared to the previous year. This is despite an overall positive trend: the 635,916 arrivals represent the third best result since records began in 1968, although they record a decrease of 2.6 percent compared to 2022.

In June 2023 there were 397,359 arrivals and 1,528,504 overnight stays. There was a particularly strong decline here: overnight stays fell by 5.1 percent compared to 2022 and by 4.3 percent compared to 2019. These declines were also influenced by weather-related uncertainties. Nevertheless, the overall decline in overnight stays over the last 20 years is not dramatic and was rated as the third strongest result.

Where are the opportunities?

What is particularly striking is the trend towards short-term bookings, which extends over the entire summer period. The number of overnight stays by guests from Austria amounted to 1,141,749, which represents a decrease of 8.2 percent compared to 2022. In contrast, international guests from the CEE region are recording increases: Poland (+33.2%), the Czech Republic (+13.3%), Hungary (+31.5%), as well as from the Netherlands (+8.5%) and Italy (+9%).

Gmeiner addresses the fact that Carinthia needs new ways of thinking in order to recognize unused potential. These are particularly important in order to be able to keep up better with other attractive regions in the future. He also sees the need for a combination of tradition and innovation in order to position Carinthia as a modern tourism region.

In summary, it can be seen that Carinthia has the ideal conditions for flourishing tourism, but requires considerable courage and innovative spirit in order to be able to survive in the German competition. Calling for the use of AI analytics and the development of fresh ideas could be a first step in the right direction.

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