Enjoying your holiday responsibly in Austria

Sustainable tourism is a win-win situation all around with a pleasant side effect: Your relaxation is also sustained.

The first use of the term “Nachhaltigkeit” (sustainability) in the German language in the sense of a long-term responsible treatment of a resource dates back to the year 1713. Hans Carl von Carlowitz used it in his work “Silivicultura oeconomica”, wondering how to plant and conserve trees for a steady and sustainable use to ensure that the land does not suffer. Thus, the concept of sustainability actually comes from forestry and means to never use up more wood than there is to grow back. Today, the term goes far beyond pure resource supply and describes the usage of a regenerating system overall, divided into ecological, economic and social aspects. And these are all aspects you will find in tourism.

Valuable contributions

“Responsible tourism makes a significant contribution to our living environment with all its inhabitants and guests,” says Petra Stolba, Managing Director of Austria Tourism. “It is all about holiday experiences that meet the needs of people and the nature.” And the trend shows that sustainable tourism is becoming more and more important for Austria and also to Austrians. The tourism boards of all nine provinces and Austria Tourism ordered a study at polling institute Karmasin on domestic holidays in the period after the Covid crisis. One of the study’s questions was “How did the crisis change values among the population?” And the changes were in part quite remarkable, the answers showed. More than 50 percent considered freedom, nature, togetherness and safety more important than before the pandemic. Home, familiarity and serenity also gained importance, as did slowing down and sustainability.

“The new social climate is optimistic overall. The new situation is used as an opportunity to reconsider your principles and values. We can see a new lifestyle emerging: Being more thoughtful, more considerate, having nature, home sustainability and serenity more in mind,” Managing Director Sophie Karmasin says.

Sustainable journey and sustainable mobility

According to the Tourism Monitor Austria T-Mona, a survey of tourists developed and launched in 2004 by Austria Tourism, the Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, the Austrian Economic Chamber, the polling institute Manova and the nine provincial tourism boards, only 12 percent of domestic tourists travelled to their holiday destination by train in the tourism season 2017/18. The following season 2018/19 this figure had risen to 16 percent, showing that railway travel had already gained in importance before the Covid crisis. Guests from Germany and Switzerland,

Photo: Tourismus Salzburg GmbH Photo: Österreich Werbung/Julius Silver Photo: Österreich Werbung/Harald Eisenberger

Photo: Österreich Werbung/Julius Silver Photo: Österreich Werbung/Dietmar Denger Photo: Österreich Werbung/Gerhard Trumler

Arts, culture, nature, culinary art. Cities, countryside, water, mountains, valleys – Austria has the right holiday destination for everyone.

the most avid railway travellers after the Japanese, confirm this climate-friendly trend.

The T-Mona study also shows that Austrian tourists who come by train are particularly good for tourism when it comes to added value. They spend 174 euros per person per night (excluding their journey), which is clearly above the 150 euros per person per night that people who come by car spend.

The offer meets the demand and vice versa

In the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019 of the World Economic Forum among 140 countries, Austria ranks first in the category Health and Hygiene, second in Tourist Service Infrastructure and third in the category Environmental Sustainability. In the overall ranking Austria is also very well placed and occupies the eleventh spot with 5.0 points.

The increased demand for sustainable holidays is met by a rich offer in Austria. A survey of Austria Tourism shows that Austria has successful offers in the five fields of tourism (nature, arts, culinary art, regeneration and encounters). Here are a few examples: There is hardly any gastronomic offer that doesn’t use regional and seasonal products. In terms of culture, Austria has the tightest network of museums by international comparison. And regeneration through thermal springs is something the Romans already valued. Environmental sustainability has always been important in Austria, just like climate protection – with or without tourism. Minister of the Environment Eleonore Gewessler underlines the importance of climate protection: “We are already seeing and feeling the effects of the climate crisis: Dry meadows and fields, more and more extremely hot days, constant storms and floods. Tourism is also suffering from this, for example if the water levels drop so low at Lake Neusiedl that people can no longer swim or sail there.”

Austria’s tourism business cannot rest on their laurels, however, and “when the Covid crisis is over, they will have to face the issues surrounding sustainability, regionality and hygiene more than ever,” says Martha Schultz, Vice-President of the Austrian Economic Chamber. “Austria has always been a safe holiday destination and safety will continue to be an important factor of success for Austria as a tourist destination. Our guests are appreciating this and will continue to do so in future.”

Petra Stolba agrees with this assessment: “Safety and sustainability are no new or strange concepts for Austria. It is something we have in our genes.” ◆