Legal problem

The crux of the matter with the local rate

Can locals get cheaper season tickets? Not according to European law.

(Bild: Melanie Hutter)

In order for the population to support local tourism, concessions are the not unproblematic means of choice. Provincial councillors speak out in favor of maintaining the concessions. 

In Lochau on Friday, the provincial tourism officers met with the responsible State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler - the debate program was long, including the controversial local rates. These are cheaper prices for tourist offers that only local residents can enjoy. The motivation behind this is clear: the discounts are intended to make the local population more willing to support the local tourist offer - regulations such as these primarily have a signal effect, while economic aspects are rather negligible.

The problem with this is that it clashes with European law. This states that all EU citizens must be treated equally, regardless of their nationality. "Our federal states are popular destinations for guests from near and far. In the interests of the locals who support tourism, we are committed to ensuring that existing benefits are maintained," explained Tyrolean Tourism Minister Mario Gerber.

In the interests of the locals who support tourism, we are committed to ensuring that existing benefits are retained.

Mario Gerber, Tirols Landesrat für Tourismus

"In-depth legal review"
He and Vorarlberg's State Councillor for Tourism Christian Gantner are calling for an "in-depth legal review" of the permissibility of local rates based on specific operational examples or the creation of state-specific solutions. If this is not possible, there would be an opportunity to obtain an exemption for local tariffs in the upcoming EU consultation on the European legal requirements in 2025. After all, these would promote social participation.

Aside from this problem, the federal states spoke out in favor of creating a uniform Austria-wide recording system for the importance of tourism. The nationwide tourism satellite account used to date measures the contribution of tourism to national value creation and employment - the system is now to be rolled out to the nine federal states in order to improve comparability.