Survey shows longing for vacation, but also uncertainty.
The corona pandemic has led to the most massive losses in its history in tourism and has set Austria back by almost 50 years in terms of overnight stays. The industry's hope is now based on the “Green Pass”, ie a digital vaccination certificate on the cell phone, with which, among other things, travel should be possible again. Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) wants to promote this passport based on the Israeli model at the EU summit for Europe as well.
“Hopefully that will come”, said the head of Austria Advertising (ÖW), Petra Stolba, on Thursday at an online press conference. Basically, it is important that travel is made as easy as possible. It would work without such a passport, but “more difficult”, as Stolba admitted when asked. But digital test certificates or vaccination certificates would “make our lives easier,” said Stolba.
In Israel, people with a green pass are again allowed to visit gyms, hotels, theaters or sporting events. It is also possible to travel again, Greece and Cyprus have concluded an agreement according to which vaccinated Israeli citizens can travel to the two south-eastern European countries again from mid-March without quarantine.
Worldwide there is a longing for vacation after a year of the corona crisis, including in Austria. “In fact, people are sitting on packed suitcases,” said Andreas Winkelhofer, spokesman for the regional tourism organizations. The majority of Austrians want to travel in the summer, but there are also fears about the feasibility of the trip, location and regulations on site as well as quarantine rules, according to a survey by the Institute for Tourism and Bathing Research in Northern Europe (NIT) on behalf of the ÖW and the nine regional tourism organizations . Around 1,500 people in Austria were interviewed online for the survey. “The killer is the quarantine, which brings travel streams to dry up,” said Ulf Sonntag from the NIT.
Comprehensive cancellation and withdrawal options as well as a money-back guarantee are particularly important to Austrians this year when planning their vacation, the survey shows. Winkelhofer sees the local tourism businesses prepared here. There is no uniform solution throughout Austria, but many companies offer cancellations.
Wait, book at short notice and obtain a lot of information, according to the survey, are the strategies the Austrians want to use this year. The holiday focus is on relaxation and recreation, time with family and friends, exercise in nature and swimming. Mainly vacation trips with a duration of five days and longer are planned, short vacations play a subordinate role.
As in the previous year, “home leave” is very popular this summer. Just over half of those questioned who could take a vacation would like to spend it in Germany. It is followed by Italy, Croatia and Germany. “There is a preference for travel that can be reached by car,” said Sonntag.
A return to an earlier level is still a long way off. “We do not expect that we will get on the growth path this year,” said Stolba. In 2021 one could “at best” keep the results of 2020. Last year, overnight stays in Austria only reached 98 million and thus fell below the level of 1973, when 102 million overnight stays were recorded. In 2020, Österreich Werbung spent 9 million euros from a special budget to advertise holidays. This year around 10 million euros are expected to flow, particularly in the areas of cultural and city holidays and thermal baths.
