You are here:

Tourism Strategy

The Tourism Strategy 2020 lays out the desired development of the destination Vienna through to the year 2020. As the marketing agency for the destination Vienna, the Vienna Tourist Board has played a leading role in elaborating the process for the development of the new Tourism Strategy 2020. However, the destination brand is sustained by the entire city. It was with this in mind that the strategy process was conceived on a broader basis than ever before: input was solicited not only from professionals in the tourism industry, but also from city residents, and last but not least from visitors to Vienna, who are the actual target group of destination development. In 2018 the Vienna Tourist Board started to elaborate the Strategy 2025, which, whilst focusing on the "visitor economy", has set itself the goal of enhancing the destination Vienna proactively and sustainably in the light of local and international trends.

Vienna’s recipe for success for the tourist destination in 2020

Tourism in Vienna is booming. In 2013, the base year for the Strategy 2020, a total of 12.7 million visitor bednights were recorded – around 4.8 million more than in 2003, equivalent to an increase of 60%. Alone in the year 2013, congress tourism contributed no fewer than 1.4 million bednights to this outstanding result. Both the economy and the labor market benefit enormously from this success.

The fact that Vienna is an attractive destination is also reflected in a dynamic hotel market. Notwithstanding the fact that growing competition represents a challenge to each individual establishment, it demonstrates above all the tremendous confidence placed in the region by (international) investors.

5 x 400 + 20 = 2020

The objectives of this concept can be reduced to the catchy formula 5 x 400 + 20 = 2020.What do we actually mean by this? By the year 2020 we are aiming for 5 million more bednights as well as around 400 million euros more net room revenues for the hospitality sector than in 2013, as well as around 20 cities more than today offering direct flights to Vienna. The number of bednights would therefore be almost 18 million, and net room revenues would break the one billion euro barrier.

The main goals: GLOBAL.SMART.PREMIUM

  • GLOBAL Vienna 2020 transforms the steady internationalization of the city, its importance as a political decision-making center and economic hub, as well as its role as a central Europe-an cosmopolitan metropolis into a prime tourism asset. Vienna has positioned itself as a "global player” so as to be able to gain an advantage in the global tourism market in line with the motto "Vienna welcomes the world".
  • SMART Vienna 2020 combines the qualities of Vienna as a city in which a culture of sustainability is lived, as a place of smart city technologies and intelligent mobility solutions to make for a smart tourism city. A city that offers an exciting and relaxing, authentic, comfortable and "green" city experience to visitors and local residents alike.
  • PREMIUM Vienna 2020 stands for a strategy of quality leadership that makes the visitor experience in Vienna something out of the ordinary based on the strength of Vienna as a city of elegance and cultivated vitality. At all the stations on the "customer journey" – on arrival, whilst out sightseeing, in the city’s restaurants, at its hotels or at musical and cultural events – visitors should experience premium quality, or "a touch of luxury” as it were. Exclusive experiences and "highend” offerings are the cutting edge of the premium destination.

Launch of the Strategy 2025

The Vienna Tourism Conference 2018 marked the official kick-off for the elaboration of the Strategy 2025. Vienna is clearly on course for success, has effectively anticipated international trends, and influenced the continual development of the destination. At the same time, political and economic changes and innovations in Europe and the world over have redefined many of the underlying conditions for city tourism in recent years. The Vienna Tourist Board is preparing intensively to meet the new challenges and opportunities.

With its "Strategy 2025" under the motto "Visitor Economy", Vienna has now defined a broader understanding of tourism and the future of destination management. Local residents and visitors are together considering their joint interests and needs so as to lend the city greater attractiveness, quality and prosperity. The task in hand is first and foremost to comprehend and deploy the entire visitor economy from the point of view of its contribution to the development and modernization of the city.
Hence this is a dialog involving not only direct stakeholders in the tourism industry, but also district authorities, real estate developers, initiative groups, universities, business people, and many others besides. It is hoped that this diverse dialog will produce a comprehensive picture of the way in which Vienna should develop until 2025, for both visitors and residents alike.

The Strategy 2025 will be presented at the Vienna Tourism Conference in 2019.

Further information