Tourism in Austria


Tourism in Austria forms an important part of the country's economy, accounting for almost 9% of the Austrian gross domestic product. 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. 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.
In 2007, Austria ranked 9th worldwide in international tourism receipts, with 18.9 billion US$. In international tourist arrivals, Austria ranked 12th with 30.8 million tourists.

Most visited areas

attracts a major part of tourists, both in summer and winter. Salzburg receives about a fifth of tourist overnight stays compared to Vienna, which ranks it 2nd in the summer season. 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.
Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its Cathedral, its "Heurigen" 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, Tiergarten Schönbrunn and Mariazell Basilica.

Sports and nature

Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas. The same applies to the numerous Austrian lakes 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.

Art and culture

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.

Internationally known annual events

NameLocationDateDescription
Bregenzer FestspieleBregenz, VorarlbergJuly/AugustOpera festival
Vienna New Year's ConcertVienna1 JanuaryTraditional concert for classical music
Internationale Gartenbaumesse TullnTulln, Lower AustriaEnd of AugustHorticulture trade fair, Europe's biggest flower show
Vienna Opera BallViennaThursday preceding Ash WednesdayBall
Salzburg FestivalSalzburgJuly/AugustOpera festival
DonauinselfestViennaEnd of JuneBiggest open air music festival in the world, free entry
ViennaleViennaOctoberFilm festival
Ars Electronica FestivalLinz, Upper AustriaSeptemberFestival devoted to technology and new media art including workshops, discussions and lectures
Hahnenkamm raceKitzbühel, TyrolJanuarySki race
Life BallViennaJuneHIV and AIDS awareness event

Arrivals by country

Most visitors arriving to Austria on short term basis are from the following countries of nationality:
RankCountry20142015
1Germany11,750,02712,134,836
2Netherlands1,671,5811,734,453
3Switzerland1,309,6601,400,251
4Italy1,051,4901,122,936
5United Kingdom802,552875,664
6China497,925715,119
7Czech Republic660,086711,351
8United States632,512708,233
9France516,770517,708
10Belgium514,264514,329
11Hungary493,055501,595
12Poland425,730456,615
13Spain309,794348,768
14Denmark264,704331,507
15Russia467,565313,406
16South Korea234,557277,032
17Romania264,704275,806
18Japan245,306236,621
19Sweden205,501224,258
20Slovakia176,760194,186
Total foreign25,291,37126,718,945-

Slogans of the provinces