Tourism forms an important part of the economy of Austria, accounting for almost 9% of the Austrian gross domestic product. Austria has one guest bed for every six inhabitants, and boasts the highest per capita income from tourism in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As of 2024, the total number of tourist overnight stays during the summer season is continuing to outnumber the overnight stays in the winter season. Peaks are in February and July/August.
In 2007, Austria ranked 9th worldwide in international tourism receipts, with 18.9 billion US$. In international tourist arrivals, Austria ranked 12th with 30.8 million tourists.
Most visited areas Vienna attracts a major part of tourists, both in summer and winter. Salzburg receives about a fifth of tourist overnight stays compared to Vienna, which ranks it 2nd in the summer season. In the winter season, a number of winter sport resorts in western Austria overtake Salzburg in the number of tourist overnight stays: Sölden, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Ischgl, Sankt Anton am Arlberg, and Obertauern.
Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its cathedral, its "Heurigen" (wine pubs) and romantic Waltz music events. Worth a visit are Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol surrounded by the Alps, Linz, capital of Upper Austria with the largest Cathedral of Austria and modern cultural highlights, and the Danube valley with its vineyards, for example the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald, which are between Melk and Krems. In the western part of the country the province Vorarlberg reaches the Lake Constance, in the eastern part Neusiedler See. The three most visited landmarks in Austria are Schönbrunn Palace (2,590,000 visitors per year), Tiergarten Schönbrunn (2,453,987 visitors) and Mariazell Basilica (1,500,000 visitors). The small town of Hallstatt draws in roughly a million visitors per year and is often named as a negative example of Instagram tourism.
Sports and nature
Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas and thermal spas. The same applies to the numerous Austrian lakes (e.g. Wolfgangsee and other lakes in the Salzkammergut east of Salzburg or Wörthersee in Carinthia) and castles. Stretching over Vorarlberg and Tyrol, Ski Arlberg is the largest connected ski area in Austria and one of five largest ski areas in the world.
Art and culture For visitors interested in media art, there is the Ars Electronica Center in Linz. Since 1979 this center has organized the Ars Electronica Festival and presented the Prix Ars Electronica, the worldwide highest-ranked prize for media art.
Internationally known annual events
+NameLocationDateDescriptionVienna New Year's ConcertVienna1 JanuaryTraditional concert for classical musicHahnenkamm raceKitzbühel, TyrolJanuarySki raceVienna Opera BallViennaThursday preceding Ash WednesdayBallLife Ball ViennaJune HIV and AIDS awareness event DonauinselfestViennaEnd of JuneBiggest open air music festival in the world, free entryBregenzer FestspieleBregenz, VorarlbergJuly/AugustOpera festivalSalzburg Festival SalzburgJuly/AugustOpera festivalFM4 Frequency FestivalSankt PöltenAugustAlternative rock, electronica and hip hop festivalInternationale Gartenbaumesse TullnTulln, Lower AustriaEnd of AugustHorticulture trade fair, Europe's biggest flower showArs Electronica FestivalLinz, Upper AustriaSeptemberFestival devoted to technology and new media art including workshops, discussions and lecturesViennaleViennaOctoberFilm festival
Arrivals
+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions Most visitors arriving to Austria on short term basis are from the following countries of nationality:Tourism in Austria 2024 Rank Country 2014 2015 20241 11,750,027 12,134,83614,913,8982 1,671,581 1,734,4532,233,8553 1,309,660 1,400,2511,354,3584 1,016,770 1,075,7081,249,4685 1,051,490 1,122,9361,059,8016 802,552 875,664920,0237 497,925 715,119374,1308 660,086 711,3511,184,1569 632,512 708,233942,59510 514,264 514,329620,10511 493,055 501,595670,02012 425,730 456,615830,41613 309,794 348,768398,63414 264,704 331,507390,95615 467,565 313,40652,72816 234,557 277,032226,05517 264,704 275,806375,82618 245,306 236,621101,47519 205,501 224,258225,72020 176,760 194,186301,559 Total foreign 25,291,371 26,718,94531,903,467
Slogans of the provinces
Burgenland – The sunny side of Austria Carinthia – The joy of living Lower Austria – Feel alive! Upper Austria – ? Salzburg – Stage of the World Styria – The Green Heart of Austria Tyrol – Heart of the Alps Vienna – Now. Forever. Vorarlberg – Poetry in Nature
Notes and references
External links
Official Website of the Austrian National Tourist Office