Travel Survives the Crisis

The financial crisis is persistent, yet some passionate travelers seem to still put aside enough money to spend on journeys. Particularly in Austria, tourists spent more money in 2009 than 2008, equaling into 6.72% of tourists’ spending – the highest level since 1997 according to www.traveller-online.at.

"We managed to get a good market share during the crisis," said Reinhold Mitterlehner, Austrian Minister of Business and Economics. "With this growth Austria is behind only China, Turkey and Australia – that means the fourth in the world."

However, there was a drop (2%) in overnight stays during the recent winter months  – November to January 2009/10 – at the same time that the percentage of domestic travelers increased for 3.6%, the number of foreigners decreased by 3.5%. Figures for January were also  down compared to last year, with a decrease of 2% in overnight stays for the month compared last year, and a 4% drop in the overnight stays of foreigners.

With the beginnings of recovery, Mitterlehner expects figures to improve further. "We expect a slight increase in sales and overnight stays," he said. "If everything goes well, we should reach at least the world average of 3-4 % growth."