The Need for Redimensioning in the Tourism Industry

Until the early 1990s, tourism contributed substantially to securing income and employment in Austria and to balancing the country's current account. Austria's ability to make use of its tourist attractions disguised the structural weakness of its economy, which in turn delayed some of the adjustment processes necessary in its physical and primary goods production. With the beginning of the 1990s, the structural deficits of the Austrian tourism industry and its declining competitiveness in terms of prices (primarily due to unfavorable exchange rates) made itself felt, and the pressure was further aggravated by the globalization process. Tourism is one of the losers of globalization within the Austrian economy. Model calculations found that about a quarter of tourist turnover is achieved through competitive advantages that are under present circumstances seen as threatened. In the mid term, the value added by tourism to the gross domestic product (GDP) could drop from its current level of 6 to 6.5 percent to 4.5 to 5 percent. If demand for the competitive advantages traditionally enjoyed by Austria declines, then Austria, one of the most affluent countries in the world, may well be faced with the dwindling importance of its tourism industry. It is therefore urgently necessary to create new competitive advantages in order to retain the vital position of the tourism industry, especially when considering that a high level of economic development and above-average share of tourism are not mutually exclusive in an improved structure. One way of maintaining the capacity of the tourism and leisure-time industry to add value and retain its job creating power is to initiate a strategic repositioning effort. The following main thrusts are proposed: • encourage internationalization; • introduce a wide range quality offensive; • strengthen cooperation between suppliers and destination management; • implement flexible production technologies; • improve the experience orientation; • develop high-growth market segments (short vacations, the "50+", winter sports, culture, market niches).