Professionally and privately

Austrians are more willing to travel since the pandemic

(Bild: Jo Panuwat D - stock.adobe.com)

The tourism industry has recovered relatively well since the coronavirus pandemic five years ago. Vacation apartments are more popular than ever, said economic researcher Oliver Fritz. "The subsidies were generous back then - the criticism that there was over-subsidization is not entirely unjustified."

Some companies might have slipped into bankruptcy in the next few years, while others would have made it even without funding. But during the crisis, action had to be taken quickly, Fritz told the APA news agency. "It had to be paid out very quickly - it is very difficult to be accurate."

In any case, tourism has proven to be "quite resilient". Nothing has happened to the accommodation providers. "We noticed that Statistics Austria reported an incredible recovery in travel for 2023 and also for 2022 - this seems to be specific to Austria and is not reflected at all in most other countries in Europe," said Fritz from the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO).

Travel is part of "normal consumer habits"
In Austria, people are traveling more again, both privately and for business. Overall, however, business travel in Europe has declined. "Corona has shown that you don't always have to meet in person." The trend towards online conferences and vacation apartments has been driven by the pandemic. "This was very welcome during the pandemic, as you could be isolated."

Travel has already become part of normal consumer habits and people are reluctant to give it up. "People want to travel, but may cut back on spending," said Fritz.