Summer holiday trips 2019-2021: domestic holiday trips and trips to Italy popular

Press release: 12.546-137/21

Vienna, 2021-06-16 - Almost 44% of the Austrian resident population aged 15 and older are planning a holiday trip in the coming summer months from July to September 2021. This is the result of a survey by Statistics Austria on planned summer trips in 2021 as part of the survey of holiday and business trips in the first quarter of 2021 (survey period 1 April to 7 May 2021).

'The easing of travel restrictions thanks to vaccination progress and falling incidences have reawakened the desire to travel among the Austrian population: 44% are planning a holiday trip between July and September 2021, 19% are still undecided, while 37% want to forgo their summer holiday this year. More than half of those willing to travel want to spend their summer holiday in Austria,' says Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.

Summer 2021: more than half of those willing to travel want to stay in Austria

When asked about their preferred holiday destination, 57% said they would like to travel domestically, 47% are planning a holiday trip abroad this summer and 9% are still undecided.

By age group, 32.4% of those over 65 years of age are planning a holiday trip this summer. More than half of the respondents in this age group (57.1%) said they were not planning to travel and 10.4% did not know at the time of the survey. By contrast, the proportion of under 65 year-olds planning to take a summer holiday this year is 46.7%.

In 2019, the proportion of people over 65 who travelled in the summer was still 38.6%, in the summer of 2020 it was significantly lower at 23.1%.

A comparison of the federal statesshowed that respondents in Vienna (47.3%) and Tyrol (46.0%) were more likely to take a summer trip than the national average. The undecided group is largest in Vienna (25.5%). 54.8% of those willing to travel from Lower Austria said they wanted to stay in Austria, and 42.5% of Viennese respondents with travel ambitions wanted to go abroad.

Summer 2020: around 23% fewer holiday trips; Austria and active holidays popular

In the previous year, the number of holiday trips (including visits to relatives and acquaintances) in the period from July to September decreased by 22.8% to 5.4 million compared to the same period in 2019; however, this decrease is significantly lower than that of the entire year 2020 (-43.3%).

In this context, domestic holiday trips in summer 2020 increased by 18.7% to 3.8 million compared to July to September 2019, while the number of holiday trips abroad more than halved by 57.3% to 1.6 million (2019: 3.7 million).

Almost one in three holiday trips in the summer of 2020 was to Italy; thus, as in the previous year, the southern neighbouring country was in first place and, despite the Corona pandemic, was able to significantly increase its market share (10.6 percentage points to 31.0% of holiday trips abroad in 2020; 2019: 20.4%). Germany followed in second place in 2020, gaining 12.5 percentage points compared to the previous summer (2020: 25.0%, 2019: 12.5%), relegating Croatiato third place, whose share declined by 7.6 percentage points compared to the previous year (2020: 8.4%, 2019: 16.0%).

The most important travel motiveof the Austrian resident population in summer 2020 was active holidays (2020: 27.7%, 2019: 17.3%), followed by visiting relatives and friends (2020: 26.0%, 2019: 19.3%) and recreational holidays (2020: 20.9%, 2019: 19.7%). On the other hand, cultural and city holidays lost share, falling by 7.9 percentage points to 7.0% (2019: 14.9%), as did beach and bathing holidays, which lost 7.0 percentage points (2020: 11.2%, 2019: 18.2%).

For more detailed results and further information concerning the survey of holiday and business trips please refer to our website.

Information on methods:Statistics Austria conducts quarterly sample surveys with the aim of mapping the national travel behaviour of the population aged 15 and over residing in Austria. Every quarter, around 3 000 selected domestic residents aged 15 and over (net sample) are interviewed by telephone (CATI), and since 2020 an additional 500 online (CAWI). Participation in the survey is voluntary. The sampling frame for the proportionally stratified sample is the Central Population Register. The data to be collected concern holiday and business trips with at least one overnight stay as well as day trips.
Within the scope of the survey on the travel activity of the Austrian population in the first quarter of 2021, it was also surveyed whether a holiday trip in Austria and/or abroad is planned in the third quarter of 2021. These results - in addition to an assessment of future travel plans at the time of the survey and the existing uncertainties due to the pandemic-related upright travel restrictions - in comparison with the information on summer travel in 2021 (in October 2021) resulting from the actual survey, provide information on the extent to which intended and actual travel activity differ from each other around three months before the observation period. The evaluation of the results taking into account socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents also points to correlations regarding travel intentions or preferences for travel destinations at home and abroad.
When interpreting the results, it should be noted that the information on planned summer travel in 2021 depends above all on the progress of vaccinations, the level of incidence in potential travel destinations and the bookings already made at the time of the survey (1 April to 7 May 2021).

For further inquiries please contact Directorate Spatial Statistics, Statistics Austria:
Peter LAIMER, Tel.: +43 1 71128-7849 resp. [email protected]
Rebecka WURIAN, Tel.: +43 1 71128-7597 resp. [email protected]

Media owner, producer and publisher:
STATISTICS AUSTRIA, Federal Institution under Public Law
1110 Vienna, Austria, Guglgasse 13, Tel.: +43 1 71128-7777
[email protected]
© STATISTICS AUSTRIA

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