Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Many of the existing health spas in Austria
and Central and Eastern Europe date back to
this era. They still possess some of the old,
charming architectural features and ambience
that satisfied the social need of the clientele of
that time. In Central and Eastern Europe, under
Communism, but to some extent also in Austria,
many of these were operated as sanatoria and
the buildings underwent structural changes. It is
difficult to revert to former conditions where
these changes were major, but where it is possi-
ble to re-establish health resort operations on a
basis not dissimilar to pre-war conditions and
installations, this is an up-market resource and
the outlook is promising.
Many old spas in Austria underwent such a
(re-)conversion, but a number of new wellness
resorts have also been established, especially
in Southeast Styria and Burgenland near to
Slovenia and Hungary. In Central and Eastern
Europe during transformation similar develop-
ments took place in Karlovy Vary and Mariánské
Lázn
f
(Czech Republic) or Opatija (Croatia),
as the most prominent examples. Hungary and
Slovenia were also extremely successful in this
respect, affecting the market position of South-
east Austrian wellness resorts quite substantially.
A lot of further potential rests with the old spas in
the Polish and Czech Sudeten Mountains as
well as the Polish and Slovakian Carpathians.
Certainly, Central and Eastern Europe has
the capacity to become a major European com-
petitor in this field.
arouse periodical attention. Being predomi-
nantly longer-distance tourism, it is, however,
also sensitive to political and other crises.
In this segment, in which Austria is repre-
sented mainly by Vienna (see Lohmann, 2004
and Seitlinger, 2004), but also by Salzburg
and some other larger cities like Innsbruck,
Central and Eastern Europe is a strong com-
petitor, because it has on the one hand an
extraordinary cultural heritage to offer (see
Jordan, 1999; Österreichisches Ost- und
Südosteuropa-Institut, 2003) and profits on the
other from the fact that the large cities and
metropolises were in the forefront of reform
and innovation and acquired the necessary
infrastructure quickly. Drawbacks such as the
negative environmental and security image,
important in other segments of the tourist
market, do play a less significant role here.
Therefore, Western city tourism to Central
and Eastern Europe is the type of tourism which
has indeed met most expectations, although it is
mostly limited to metropolises like Prague or
Budapest and some extraordinary regional cen-
tres such as Cracow (Kraków), while others only
slightly less attractive are rather neglected. This
may be for reasons of publicity, accessibility or
insufficiently developed tourist infrastructure.
Smaller cities and places of interest still tend to
lack the facilities that urban tourists have grown
to expect.
The growth of city tourism in Central and
Eastern Europe has so far not meant that
Austrian competitors suffered from a decline in
visitors. On the contrary, city tourism in Austria
remains a flourishing segment (Lohmann,
2004; Seitlinger, 2004). Package tours for tour-
ists from overseas including a couple of Central
European cities may even have contributed
to this phenomenon, but certainly, with the
inclusion of further destinations in Central and
Eastern Europe, competition will get tougher.
City and cultural tourism
City tourism, frequently combined with cultural
tourism, is a segment that has grown consider-
ably in recent decades. Its growth has been fed
by a trend towards short vacations, entertain-
ment and educational travel and low airfares.
Fairs and conferences are an important compo-
nent. It is highly profitable, but demands high
quality standards as well as exceptional historic
and cultural attractions. Vital factors include an
excellent tourist infrastructure and easy accessi-
bility (good air connections). It has so far
proved to be relatively stable, provided that
new attractions and events (e.g. new museums
and galleries, commemorations of historical
and cultural celebrities, sport championships)
Study and theme travel
This segment has also grown rapidly since the
fall of the Iron Curtain and has gained consider-
able stature in Central and Eastern Europe. It
caters primarily to the growing number of
educated, active retired people who, financially
secure, well-spoken and flexible, are seeking
