| 2011 Ended With Record Numbers of Tourists in Vienna
Individuals in the tourism industry can certainly look back on a successful year. A record number of 11.4 million overnight stays in Vienna constitute the highest figures in history, and it translates into an increase of 5 percent over the 2010 numbers. Special attractions and services are already being planned to make next year just as successful.
With a EUR446.7 million net profit from renting out accommodations between January and November 2011, the industry is seeing numbers that are 9.2 percent higher than in the previous year. This means that the city of Vienna has exceeded the expectations set out in the Tourism Concept 2015 report. The slogan "100 and 1" referred to an increase of 100 million in overnight sales and achieve an increase of 1 million in overall overnight figures. Since 2011 was so exceptional, the slogan now reads "100 and 1 and now even more."
Out of all of the main markets that the Vienna tourism market tries to reach, the largest increases were recorded among Russian tourists. Russians logged a total of 522,000 overnight stays, which constitutes an increase of 36 percent over the previous year's figures. Next up were Spanish tourists, who stayed a total of 388,000 and experienced an increase of 17 percent, as well as Swiss tourists who logged 346,000 stays and an increase of 12 percent over the previous year. Accommodations rented by Italian, British, Japanese, French and German tourists jumped from 3 percent to 8 percent. The number of tourists from the United States and inside Austria stagnated at 2,096,000 at a 7 percent drop.
Due to these record numbers from the past year, the Viennese tourist industry is poised for a long and trying year if tourist numbers continue to climb. So many new highlights and events are planned for the coming year that the "Vienna - Now or Never" might actually be realized. For example, the 2012 season is dominated by a Klimt exposition. As the 150th anniversary rolls around, special exhibitions are planned and the Klimt Villa will actually be opened up again. A combination of the anniversary and tourism seems to be a surefire plan for success.
Tourism industry analysts say that the congress events planned for 2012 and the 20th Vienna Life Ball are also going to be popular. The convention industry is booming in Vienna, and this industry has attracted many companies to the Austrian capital. Moe Mahmoodian, the managing director of viennaresidence | business rental apartments, can confirm this: "viennaresidence experienced an increase in overnight rentals during the 2011 season. The business of renting out Serviced Apartments in Vienna is becoming popular with certain types of travelers." viennaresidence is Austria's largest rental portal for short time apartment rentals, and it offers high quality fully furnished apartments in the city.
Vienna tourism has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year. Organizations are hopeful that the new events and the buzz surrounding the Klimt attractions will bring another equally successful year.
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