Upper Austria Is Ready For The Winter Season
Upper Austria's tourism and leisure industry is preparing intensively for the coming winter season. “We have had a successful summer season, according to the figures available so far the number of overnight stays has reached the level of 2019, the record summer before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the economic development, which is fraught with great uncertainty, makes the coming months of the 2022/23 winter season once again difficult to predict,” summarizes Economics and Tourism State Councilor Markus Achleitner.
"The desire to travel is not only great among Upper Austrians, but also in the eastern neighboring federal states of Vienna and Lower Austria, Upper Austria's winter destinations are very popular. It is now important to inspire the target group with targeted marketing measures coordinated by Upper Austria Tourism,” announces Provincial Councilor Achleitner.
A study on the expected behavior of skiers from Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria in the coming winter, prepared by the Linz Market Institute on behalf of Upper Austria Tourism, gives cause for optimism. 32 percent of all respondents state that they want to go skiing or snowboarding in winter 2022/23. This is twice as high as in the previous year. And 41 percent of potential skiers consider a ski resort in Upper Austria when planning a skiing holiday.
Market research predicts good chances of a successful winter season not only in Germany, but also on the foreign markets. The study "Winter Potentials 2022/2023" published by the Austrian National Tourist Office takes a close look at people's holiday plans in ten international markets, including the countries Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, which are important for Upper Austria. The bottom line: people are in a holiday mood. A total of around 17 million people are planning a winter holiday in Austria. This corresponds to the level before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and is significantly higher than the values of the previous year.
Tourists are confident about the winter season
Robert Seeber, chairman of the Federal Department of Tourism and Leisure Economics of the WKO, is confident for the upcoming winter season: "Our companies are ready and are already looking forward to the winter guests." Seeber explains his optimistic attitude with the very good summer season. And from today's perspective, Corona should not become a spoilsport for guests and companies either.
In any case, the development of the tourism industry in Upper Austria gives cause for hope. For example, the number of active members of specialist groups in gastronomy has been increasing again since 2020. As of June 30, 2022, the specialist group had 6,176 members (2020: 5,993). Similarly in the hotel industry: from 2020 to mid-2022, the number of active specialist group members increased from 963 to 1,030. The development of dependent employees is positive, the number of which is leveling off at the pre-crisis level of 2019. Seeber knows from the feedback from restaurateurs and hoteliers that there could be even more in both sectors that they would like to employ an additional 2,000 people.
Be clear, foa ned z'weid: Winter in Upper Austria is obvious.
Upper Austria scores with winter holidaymakers with a familiar and hospitable atmosphere, fair offers, good value for money and smart services such as inexpensive online ticketing or tailor-made family offers. In addition, Upper Austria's regions and their leisure activities in winter benefit from good accessibility and a short journey.
“With the new campaign we are reacting directly to the current survey in our most important home markets in Austria, namely Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria. With an additional focus on these regional target markets, we are optimally playing to the strengths of Upper Austria,” says Mag. Andreas Winkelhofer, Managing Director of Upper Austria Tourism. That is why the seven Snow & Fun ski areas, the four tourism associations Dachstein Salzkammergut, Pyhrn-Priel, Traunsee-Almtal and Böhmerwald as well as Upper Austria Tourism are joining forces for a joint market presence. The campaign encourages people to switch off in the truest sense of the word, to refocus on the essential things in life during their winter vacation. “Because the best time – the time with the family, with sports,
The good accessibility of Upper Austria is also one of the most important statements in communication in and around Vienna: "Sei gscheid, foa ned z'weid". Advertising, especially at high-traffic motorway access and exits, and advertising in Vienna's underground network, draws people's attention to the fact that Upper Austria's ski areas can be reached on the way from Vienna to the mountains with a short journey.
Snow & Fun: Together for a successful winter
For more than two decades, the seven largest ski areas in Upper Austria - the Dachstein West ski region, the Freesports Arena Dachstein Krippenstein, the Feuerkogel, Hinterstoder, Wurzeralm, Kasberg and Hochficht ski areas - have been working together successfully in the Snow & Fun cooperation with Upper Austria Tourism. Since winter 2018/19, the tourism associations of the ski regions have also been on board. "We work together on the markets for skiing in Upper Austria and are now primarily addressing multi-day guests," outlines Rupert Schiefer, board member and managing director of the Dachstein West ski region and the OÖ Seilbahnholding.
Intensive preparations for the winter season
The revision work in the ski areas will be finalized by the start of the season in December so that skiers can once again be offered the highest level of safety in the upcoming winter season. “The challenges for the ski areas this winter are enormous, but we are positive about the future. The regions also have a lot to offer beyond skiing and we will make this varied offer palatable to holidaymakers with the excellently prepared winter campaign," says Schiefer happily.
