Blurring the seasonal boundaries towards year-round tourism should also mitigate the effects of the increasing lack of snow in winter, according to the ÖW's strategy.
Holidays in Austria should be popular at any time of year, not just during the peak summer and winter seasons. Year-round tourism is the industry's stated goal."This year we have started to move away from the seasonal logic in order to keep demand more stable and to spread out the flow of guests", said the head of the tourism marketing organization Austria Werbung (ÖW), Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, recently at the world's largest travel trade fair ITB in Berlin.The off-seasons are more important than ever.„
This also applies to winter tourism: The revitalization of the off-season, as sought by the Austrian Economic Chamber, is also intended to mitigate the effects of the increasing lack of snow in the face of climate change, according to the new State Secretary for Energy, Start-ups and Tourism, Elisabeth Zehetner. Of course, skiing at lower altitudes will be a challenge in the future, Zehetner expects. Therefore, it is good to move toward year-round tourism in Austria.But I am not worried about the higher areas“, said the State Secretary at the same time, also with regard to the technical possibilities regarding artificial snowmaking.
The international tourism trade fair ITB, which took place at the beginning of March, is the world's largest industry gathering, where thousands of exhibitors from more than 40 countries position themselves as travel destinations. Austria was represented there with a stand of the Austrian Tourism Federation (ÖW), and Germany is the most important foreign source market for domestic tourism. At this year's ITB, Austria therefore intensively promoted itself as an "innovative, enjoyable, and sustainable travel destination," particularly targeting German vacationers, who traditionally book the most overnight stays in domestic hotels, guesthouses, and vacation apartments of all guests from abroad.
A special focus was placed on the themes of culinary arts and innovation, as well as art and culture, but tastings and workshops were also designed to make holidays in Austria more appealing to visitors. This year's exhibition stand was expanded from approximately 750 square meters to 900 square meters compared to the previous year, and the number of tourism partners presenting Austria as a holiday destination increased from 64 to 71.