Austria Reports 35.2 % Growth In Tourist Arrivals From Middle East

09 May 2013

The Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO), Austria's national tourism organization stated that 2012 showed the best results for Austrian tourism in the last 20 years, and the country has become a sort after destination for the audience especially from the Middle East. In the last 10 years, the number of guests from the Middle East visiting Austria has grown by 664.6% and the number of overnights generated by them has grown by 519.3%.

ANTO is participating at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013, the region's leading travel industry showcase.

"Austria has grown faster than any other European country in this market. We are growing twice as fast as other popular European destinations like Germany or Switzerland. ANTO's main objective is promoting the holiday country Austria and to secure and expand Austria's competitiveness in cooperation with all Austrian tourism partners", says Klaus Ehrenbrandtner, Regional Director for Asia & Middle East.

"In 2012, Austria counted a total of 218,070 arrivals (an increase of 36.3%) and 712,514 overnights (an increase of 35.2%) from the Middle East. The majority of Middle Eastern guests in Austria came from KSA (29%) and the UAE (28%). Saudi-Arabia was the source country with the biggest increase for Austrian tourism in 2012 with an increase of 67.0% arrivals and 69.2% overnights as compared to the previous year. We are expecting this momentum to continue through-out this year." added Klaus.

Due to the increasing demand for trips to Austria from the GCC, there are new connections on offer both to Munich and to Vienna: Lufthansa will increase its Riyadh-Munich service from three to five flights a week beginning May 16, 2013. The Munich service will also connect Jeddah via Riyadh. Kuwait Airways plans to connect its flights to Istanbul and Frankfurt with a leg to Vienna in August and September 2013. Turkish Airlines, who have already been strong with flights to Vienna and Munich via Istanbul, start to offer direct flights to Salzburg City, starting May 28.

Vienna's hotel industry is booming at the moment, with new rooms coming onto the market all the time. The city's premium segment, in particular, welcomes a number of fascinating new arrivals.

The Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) is Austria's national tourism organization. Its main objective is promoting the holiday country Austria and to secure and expand Austria's competitiveness in cooperation with all Austrian tourism partners. By doing so, ANTO contributes essentially to increasing Austria's market share in international tourism.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/austria-reports-352--growth-tourist-340585