Tourism forms an important part of the economy of Austria, accounting for almost 9% of the Austrian gross domestic product. [1] Austria has one guest bed for every six inhabitants, and boasts the highest per capita income from tourism in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. [2] As of 2007, the total number of tourist overnight stays is roughly the same for summer and winter season, with peaks in February and July/August. [1]
In 2007, Austria ranked 9th worldwide in international tourism receipts, with 18.9 billion US$. [3] In international tourist arrivals, Austria ranked 12th with 30.8 million tourists. [3]
Vienna attracts a major part of tourists, both in summer and winter. [1] Salzburg receives about a fifth of tourist overnight stays compared to Vienna, which ranks it 2nd in the summer season. [1] In the winter season, a number of winter sport resorts in western Austria overtake Salzburg in the number of tourist overnight stays: Sölden, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Ischgl, Sankt Anton am Arlberg, and Obertauern. [1]
Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its cathedral, its "Heurigen" (wine pubs) and romantic Waltz music events. Worth a visit are Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol surrounded by the Alps, Linz, capital of Upper Austria with the largest Cathedral of Austria and modern cultural highlights, and the Danube valley with its vineyards, for example the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald, which are between Melk and Krems. In the western part of the country the province Vorarlberg reaches the Lake Constance, in the eastern part Neusiedler See. The three most visited landmarks in Austria are Schönbrunn Palace (2,590,000 visitors per year), Tiergarten Schönbrunn (2,453,987 visitors) and Mariazell Basilica (1,500,000 visitors). [4]
Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas (e.g. the Witches's Water in Tyrol). The same applies to the numerous Austrian lakes (e.g. Wolfgangsee and other lakes in the Salzkammergut east of Salzburg or Wörthersee in Carinthia) and castles. Stretching over Vorarlberg and Tyrol, Ski Arlberg is the largest connected ski area in Austria and one of five largest ski areas in the world. [5]
For visitors interested in media art, there is the Ars Electronica Center in Linz. Since 1979 this center has organized the Ars Electronica Festival and presented the Prix Ars Electronica, the worldwide highest-ranked prize for media art. [6]
Name | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Bregenzer Festspiele | Bregenz, Vorarlberg | July/August | Opera festival |
Vienna New Year's Concert | Vienna | 1 January | Traditional concert for classical music |
Internationale Gartenbaumesse Tulln | Tulln, Lower Austria | End of August | Horticulture trade fair, Europe's biggest flower show |
Vienna Opera Ball | Vienna | Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday | Ball |
Salzburg Festival | Salzburg | July/August | Opera festival |
Donauinselfest | Vienna | End of June | Biggest open air music festival in the world, free entry |
Viennale | Vienna | October | Film festival |
Ars Electronica Festival | Linz, Upper Austria | September | Festival devoted to technology and new media art including workshops, discussions and lectures |
Hahnenkamm race | Kitzbühel, Tyrol | January | Ski race |
Life Ball | Vienna | June | HIV and AIDS awareness event |
Most visitors arriving to Austria on short term basis are from the following countries of nationality: [7]
Rank | Country | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 11,750,027 | 12,134,836 |
2 | ![]() | 1,671,581 | 1,734,453 |
3 | ![]() | 1,309,660 | 1,400,251 |
4 | ![]() | 1,051,490 | 1,122,936 |
5 | ![]() | 802,552 | 875,664 |
6 | ![]() | 497,925 | 715,119 |
7 | ![]() | 660,086 | 711,351 |
8 | ![]() | 632,512 | 708,233 |
9 | ![]() | 516,770 | 517,708 |
10 | ![]() | 514,264 | 514,329 |
11 | ![]() | 493,055 | 501,595 |
12 | ![]() | 425,730 | 456,615 |
13 | ![]() | 309,794 | 348,768 |
14 | ![]() | 264,704 | 331,507 |
15 | ![]() | 467,565 | 313,406 |
16 | ![]() | 234,557 | 277,032 |
17 | ![]() | 264,704 | 275,806 |
18 | ![]() | 245,306 | 236,621 |
19 | ![]() | 205,501 | 224,258 |
20 | ![]() | 176,760 | 194,186 |
Total foreign | 25,291,371 | 26,718,945 |
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Austria is a predominantly mountainous country in Central Europe, approximately between Germany, Italy and Hungary. It has a total area of 83,871 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi).
Tyrol is an Austrian federal state. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino. The capital of Tyrol is Innsbruck.
Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. Two thirds of the country are situated above 1,000m. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.
Montafon is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg.
Germany is the eighth-most-visited country in the world, with a total of 407.26 million overnights during 2012. This number includes 68.83 million nights by foreign visitors, the majority of foreign tourists in 2009 coming from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Additionally, more than 30% of Germans spend their holiday in their own country. According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports, Germany is ranked 3 out of 136 countries in the 2017 report, and is rated as one of the safest travel destinations worldwide.
Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to 2,811 m (9,222 ft), yielding a vertical drop of 1,507 m (4,944 ft). It is also a popular summer resort among trekkers and mountaineers.
The Arlberg is a massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria. The highest peak is the Valluga at 2,811 metres (9,222 ft). Ski resorts at the Arlberg include Lech, Zürs, Stuben, St. Christoph, St. Anton, Oberlech, Stubenbach, Zug, and Warth.
Austrian culture is characterised by historical and modern influences, including a history of interaction primarily between Celtic, Roman, Slavic and Germanic peoples. Austria is particularly known for its classical music, folk music, baroque architecture, coffee culture, winter sports and Alpine traditions.
Zürs is one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in the Alps. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, almost directly on the border to North Tyrol, near the Flexenpass, Zürs is part of the Arlberg region, which also includes Lech, Oberlech, Zug, and Stubenbach. This region offers 87 ski-lifts, 200 kilometers of deep snow slopes and 305 km of ski runs. It has several hotels and guest houses, with a total of over 1,700 beds. It is popular for its downhill skiing, but also for its backcountry skiing and its Olympic ski championships. About four kilometers north of Zürs is Lech am Arlberg, another ski resort which is linked to Zürs not only via road, but also via ski lifts and pistes.
Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech.
The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide, and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower than the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.
Gerlos is a municipality with 793 inhabitants in Schwaz district of the Austrian state of Tyrol. The village is popular with skiing tourists, mainly families, as there is easy access to Zillertal Arena Centre on Isskogel. The village lies in the Zell am Ziller judicial district.
Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Innsbruck, the capital city of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol. Opened in 1853, the station is a major hub for western and central Austria. In 2019, it was the 8th-busiest station in the country, and the 2nd-busiest outside of Vienna after only Linz Hauptbahnhof, with 315 train movements and 38,500 passengers daily.
The ORF regional studios are branch offices from ORF in each state of Austria. Since 1975 there is also a regional office in and since 2021 a broadcasting TV studio in Bolzano for the German-speaking population of South Tyrol, Italy.
The Lechtal is an alpine valley in Austria, the greater part of which belongs to the state of Tyrol and the smaller part to Vorarlberg. The Lech river flows through the valley.
The Brandnertal is a valley in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg as well as a ski resort named after the valley.
Events in the year 2023 in Austria.