Tourism Analysis May to August 2020

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, domestic guests travelled in their own country much more often in the main summer season 2020 than in 2019. The dynamic growth in August was even stronger in comparison to July (+10.2 percent and +15.9 percent) with +15.6 percent in arrivals and +22.6 percent in overnight stays (extrapolation). Especially destinations at lakes and in alpine regions benefited above average from this development in both months (overnight stays: Carinthia +38.9 percent, Salzburg +27.7 percent, Tyrol +23.4 percent, Styria +22.4 percent), in Austria excluding Vienna domestic travellers spent the night 21.8 percent more frequently. In contrast, international demand continued to be subject to severe restrictions on air travel and entry bans, with the result that the number of arrivals in August fell by 35.6 percent and overnight stays by 23.6 percent. The absence of foreign – and in particular long-distance travelers – guests in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic hit city tourism particularly hard: in the first four summer months Vienna lost 85.6 percent of its international overnight stays compared to 2019, and more than three quarters in the peak season (July 77.8 percent, August 76.8 percent). Lower Austria also suffered disproportionately from a massive decline in overnight stays by foreign travelers in the wake of the federal capital (August 49.8 percent; May to August 62.4 percent), not least due to the cancellation of major events and congresses.