Vienna launches ‘United City of Tourism’ project
(Adnkronos) – After the forced stop of recent years, it is time to restart and to do so the Vienna Tourist Board launches the international project “United Cities of Tourism” which promotes the Habsburg city and at the same time six countries Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain and France. “We have implemented a real circular strategy that involves not only foreign travelers, who come to visit us, but also the Viennese themselves who want to discover new destinations; a determined restart that can take place quickly” he comments Norbert Kettner, Director of WienTourism.
In fact, from the beginning of May and until June 30, 2022, for every 100 tourists who go to Vienna, the Austrian capital’s tourist board will send a fellow citizen to one of the 17 cities involved between Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne. , Zurich, Basel, Geneva, Rome, Milan, Florence, London, Manchester, Barcelona, Paris, Lyon and Nice. It will be necessary to register on the official portal to try to obtain one of the numerous return tickets offered by Austrian Airlines and ÖBB, the latter partner of the initiative for the Italian market and will allow you to reach Vienna or the cities of Florence, Rome and Milan with the Nightjet train.
The Vienna Tourist Board then organized the institution of the “United Cities of Tourism” day for next May 15th together with the tourist offices of the cities of London, Berlin, Milan and Barcelona. On their official instagram pages they will not be shown postcards of the city than those of another destination (for example, Vienna will show the beauties of Milan and London those of Vienna) with the addition of the “swipe up” to make the initiative known.
“United Cities of Tourism” – he explains – aims above all at city breaks, a way of traveling that in pre-covid recorded the highest growth rates of European tourism. Vienna is an example of this – in 2019 it counted 17.6 million overnight stays, exceeding for the first time the threshold of one billion euros in turnover in the hotel sector – and today we believe that tourism to cities can increasingly be an attraction for that type of tourist who seeks historical-artistic beauties and culture but also sustainability which in Vienna is strongly rooted in the urban fabric: in public transport, cultural institutions and accommodation facilities.
Furthermore, Vienna continues to maintain high quality standards both during and after the pandemic. According to a study conducted by the global market research firm, TCI Research / Travelsat, on behalf of the Vienna Tourist Board analyzing 1.8 million reviews posted on major platforms, from January 2019 to October 2021, a ‘accurate analysis. In all three areas analyzed – accommodation, gastronomy and leisure facilities – Vienna, its companies achieved excellent results, with a satisfaction score of 8.8 out of 10, obtaining better data than the reference European cities with an average of 8.65. Vienna has not only been able to maintain its competitive position in these difficult times, but in some cases even improve it.
Among the novelties expected from this 2022 there are significant investments and new openings in the hotel sector. Developments that testify to the enormous confidence in Vienna and lead to a general improvement in the quality of the destination with a considerable increase in beds by the end of 2023. This is justified by the latest data drawn up in March 2022 which already see 700,000 overnight stays in the capital.