Vienna Tourist Board Adjusts Targets for 2025 Due to Pandemic

2019 was the most successful chapter in Vienna’s history as a tourist destination. 2020 was the worst since the second world war. The Covid-19 pandemic left Vienna’s visitor economy facing unprecedented challenges. Overnight, what began as a health crisis triggered a devastating collapse in overnight stays and revenue. Many of the participants in the visitor economy lost the means to support themselves from one day to the next.

Quick to react, the Vienna Tourist Board developed a reactivation plan  and various strategies designed to support the recovery to the fullest extent possible. As part of its return to normality, the Vienna Tourist Board continues to work very closely with its stakeholders, developing a new platform of dialog: the Vienna Visitor Economy Series (only available in German). The Vienna Tourist Board used the time to focus on the ongoing evolution of the visitor economy and promote a sustainable and resilient recovery. Despite the measures put in place in partnership with the City of Vienna and representatives of the city's visitor economy, it will take several years for the industry to return to pre-pandemic levels. 

The crisis meant that it was necessary to adapt the ambitious goals set out in the Visitor Economy Strategy in 2019 to reflect the current situation. The aim is a return to pre-Covid successes, and make a strong statement on sustainability despite the economic challenges and ensure that visitor and resident satisfaction remains stable at a high level. We will continue to pursue the long-term goals for the development of the destination. Many of the approaches that we pinpointed during times of growth have shown themselves to be more relevant than ever in light of the current crisis. The principal task ahead is to promote –  and in some cases remodel – sustainable and meaningful high-quality tourism.

The graphic below gives an overview of the revised KPIs for the Vienna Visitor Economy Strategy. Achieving our goals continues to be predicated on upholding the close collaboration and partnership with stakeholders in the Vienna visitor economy ecosystem.