Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
50
45
40
35
Share in all foreign nights
Share in nights from CEEC
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Fig. 6.8.
Distribution of foreign and CEE visitor overnights across Austrian provinces, 2003.
in Austria were spent in the winter season
(November to April) (Statistik Austria, 2003).
Tyrol (Tirol), Salzburg, Carinthia (Kärnten) and
Styria (Steiermark) were the predominant
winter destinations and Poles, Hungarians and
Slovaks were, more than Czechs, Slovenians
and Croats, inclined to spend winter holidays in
Austria. It has, however, to be taken into
account that for the latter it is easy to visit major
Austrian skiing centres for a day trip.
The relatively strongest regional impact of
Central and Eastern European tourists is noted
in Styria, where Central and Eastern European
(predominantly Hungarian) overnights amount
to 13.2% of all foreign overnights (compared to
4% at the Austrian average). Second is Lower
Austria [Niederösterreich] with 11.4% (also
predominantly Hungarians); but also in the
federal provinces of Carinthia (6.8%, also
predominantly Hungarians), Upper Austria
(Oberösterreich) (5.6%, relative majority of
Czechs) and Salzburg (5.1%, relative majority
of Czechs) the share of Central and Eastern
Europeans is significantly above the Austrian
average (Statistik Austria, 2004). This means
that regions with a lower tourism intensity profit
disproportionally from Central and Eastern
European tourist flows. The spatial distribution
of Central and Eastern European tourist nights
over Austria differs, however, not so signifi-
cantly from the distribution of foreign tourist
nights in total that it is justified to conclude that
Central and Eastern Europeans avoid top
destinations and form just overspill in cheaper
tourism peripheries (see Fig. 6.8). It is, however,
evident that the westernmost Austrian provinces
(Tyrol, Vorarlberg), known for their elite
tourism, receive relatively small tourist flows
from Central and Eastern Europe.
Central and Eastern European countries
as tourism destinations for Austrians
According to overnight stays in 2003 reported by
the national statistical agencies, for Austrians
Croatia is by far the most attractive destination
(3.585m Austrian overnights) among Central
and Eastern European countries, followed by
Hungary (719,000) and Slovenia (691,000).
This is supported by an Austrian statistical survey
year 2001 (Statistik Austria, 2002). In this year,
when Croatian tourism had again considerably
recovered from the depression of the 1990s, Italy
ranked first among Austrian holiday travels
abroad (24.2%), followed by Croatia (13.1%).
Hungary held the 8th (2.8%) and Slovenia the
