Central European Hub: Vienna Connects
Vienna Connects: Global Partnerships Drive Mobility
The Vienna Tourist Board is constantly working to strengthen the city’s air and rail connections through international mobility partnerships. High-profile collaborations with Austrian Airlines, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), and Vienna International Airport play a key role in its efforts in this area. These partnerships have an essential hand to play in keeping Vienna globally competitive – both as a travel destination and in economic terms – despite its relatively modest size.
Air and Rail: Boosting Vienna’s global Connections
A series of wide-ranging cooperation projects were also implemented in 2025 as part of the Vienna Tourist Board’s air and rail service development activities, reflecting the strategic importance of the city’s international connections. It also partnered with Austrian Airlines on a concerted joint-marketing drive in the United States. This partnership was flanked by B2B campaigns in Canada, France, and Spain to raise awareness of new routes to Vienna. As part of the "King of Waltz. Queen of Music." theme year, Austrian Airlines gave one of its 777s a new livery featuring a contemporary interpretation of the “Waltz King” Johann Strauss II. First port of call for the world capital of music’s flying ambassador: Malé, capital of the Maldives. A cooperation was also initiated to promote Scoot’s new route from Singapore. In 2025, Vienna offered connections to 203 destinations across 65 countries, served by 76 airlines. The Vienna Tourist Board and Vienna Airport also hosted a group of international airline network planners in the city.
In key neighboring markets – especially Germany and Switzerland – the Vienna Tourist Board once again ran extensive activities in 2025 to promote travel to Vienna by train. In the first quarter of the year, a specially branded ÖBB Railjet locomotive, featuring Strauss-themed design inspired by the annual theme "King of Waltz. Queen of Music.", took to the rails as a striking ambassador honoring Johann Strauss II. In late summer, the Vienna Tourist Board teamed up with Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) in Germany for an activation campaign encouraging visitors to travel to Vienna by train. Just before that, a similar campaign with long-standing partner Rail Tour Suisse in Switzerland promoted Vienna as a destination that is ideal for rail travel.
Eight Out of Ten Congress Visitors Arrive by Air
International accessibility is especially important for Vienna’s meetings and conference sector: two thirds (60%) of congress participants arrive by air. Overall, more than 80% of visitors to Vienna come from abroad. According to a recent visitor survey, 39% arrived by plane, 32% by train, and 23% by car.
Vienna – Europe’s Rail Hotspot
Vienna has the best rail connections of any European city: around a third (32%) of all visitors now travel to the capital by train – a year-on-year increase of two percentage points. This success is the direct result of a long-standing partnership between the Vienna Tourist Board and ÖBB, which is aimed at positioning Vienna as both a top rail destination and a capital of culture.
Climate-Conscious Travel: Vienna Makes the “Last Mile” Sustainable
One of the major mobility challenges in tourism is managing the last mile, which, in many regions, still has to be covered by car, even by visitors who travel to the city by rail. A challenge that Vienna's city tourism actually solved decades ago: for 30 years now, the Vienna Tourist Board has been offering its guests unlimited travel throughout Vienna’s central zone with the Vienna City Card, the capital's official guest card, helping to keep visitors’ carbon footprints as small as possible once they arrive in the city. Since the introduction of the Vienna City Card in 1995, 7.4 million have been sold (as of December 2025).