Austria aims to make tourism stronger and more sustainable with "Vision T" strategy by 2035

At the same time, the State Secretary warned of growing international competition. "International competition is intensifying, many businesses are facing a generational change, and digitalization and AI are changing the way we travel," Zehetner explained. Against this backdrop, investments in digitalization, training, and the strengthening of family-run businesses are necessary. "The goal is to secure Austria's family-run businesses in the long term," the ÖVP politician stated.

Year-round tourism and digitalization

One focus of the strategy is year-round tourism. "The tourism nation Austria 2025 has as a very clear element year-round tourism, creating value outside of peak times," Zehetner emphasized. This is intended to reduce dependence on the winter season and a few peak periods and increase occupancy throughout the year.

In the digital sphere, the national tourism marketing organization Österreich Werbung is developing its own AI strategy for the industry. This is intended to ensure that "Austria is at the forefront of digital competition," according to Zehetner. Planned are applications centered on data analysis, personalized travel offerings, and the digital visibility of Austrian destinations in international competition.

Financing via the ÖHT

When it comes to investments, the strategy relies on the Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank (ÖHT). On the one hand, investments are to be further developed with the help of ÖHT financing, "but new opportunities should also be created to mobilize private capital for tourism investments," it was stated. This is intended to ease access to capital for businesses and reduce the modernization backlog in the industry.

Specifically, the following goals have been set in the economic policy strategy for tourism by 2035: real value added is to increase by 10 percent from the current 22.6 billion euros, international travel receipts are to grow nominally by more than 10 billion euros, the equity ratio of quality hotels is to rise from below 18 percent to above 20 percent, and the number of year-round employees in accommodation and gastronomy is to increase from around 134,600 to more than 160,000.

Goals by 2035 and next steps

With the "Vision T" strategy, the government is linking economic, location, and climate policy goals. Sustainability and regional value creation are to be brought more to the fore, while at the same time Austria's competitiveness as a location is to be secured in international comparison. According to Zehetner, the details on implementation, funding conditions, and timelines must be coordinated with the industry and the federal states in the coming months.

The opposition and tourism experts will critically examine the concrete design of the strategy in the coming weeks. Among other things, it remains open how the additional private funds are actually to be mobilized, how the quality hotel industry can substantively strengthen its equity base, and which digital standards will apply in the future. The impact on small and medium-sized accommodation businesses will also need to be kept an eye on.

The tourism industry itself is fundamentally open to the strategic direction, but is calling for binding framework conditions and planning certainty. Initial reactions from hotel associations and the gastronomy sector point to rising labor costs, a continuing shortage of skilled workers, and pressure from the rising number of foreign competitors. According to the ministry, the next industry talks are already scheduled for the summer.