The Vienna Tourist Board reports record-breaking numbers for 2019 with revenue at an all-time high. “In terms of economic value added, 2019 shaped up to be extraordinarily positive,”, said City Councilman Peter Hanke at last week’s press conference in celebration of the historic numbers.
Billion Euro Baby
From January to November, the city’s hospitality industry raked in €904 million and is prospected to have broken the billion euro barrier by year’s end – a first for Vienna. Over 7.9 million arrivals amounted to 17.6 million overnight stays, 83% of which were from outside Austria. With a million overnighters, the USA is the city’s most prominently growing foreign market, closely followed by China and Japan. These markets also disproportionately contribute to the revenue of Viennese luxury hotels and stores.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
According to the tourism monitor T-MONA, visitors are pleased with Vienna as a travel destination, with 9 out of 10 stating they would recommend it to others. A survey by research institute Manova shows that 9 out of 10 Vienna residents have an equally positive disposition towards tourism in the city, a result that’s in line with previous years. Vienna’s popularity with visitors also creates a significant number of jobs, with around 11% stemming from the tourism and leisure industry, employing 116,500 local residents.
Midnight Train to Vienna
Kettner expects to be taking “a breather at the highest level” in 2020, but remains excited about what’s to come. Austrian Airlines is launching eight new destinations, among them a direct connection to Boston, and the ÖBB is keeping its commitment to establishing Vienna as the night train hub of Europe with their new Nightjet connections to Brussels, Krakow and Amsterdam, among others. Beethoven’s upcoming 250th birthday is sure to bring music lovers galore to the “Capital of Music,” while the 13 large-scale conferences that are slated for 2020 will certainly maintain Vienna’s status as a professional hotspot.
(Foto: WienTourismus/Christian Stemper/Paul Bauer)
