The Austrian winter season 2023/24 is seeing a remarkable upturn, according to Statistics Austria. Between November 2023 and March 2024, overnight stays in hotels, guest houses and holiday apartments rose by 5,5 percent to almost 65 million, reaching the record level of the 2018/19 season. Sales climbed to an impressive 16 billion euros. Mario Mathera, Country Head of Global Payments sro Austria, emphasizes the growing popularity of cashless payment among guests. An analysis of card payments shows that German holidaymakers account for the largest share of all card-based transactions in Austrian hotels at 43 percent, followed by guests from the Netherlands (11 percent) and Switzerland (6,3 percent). The number of American tourists also increased, underscoring the growing importance of the US market. In the St. Anton am Arlberg ski region, German tourists make up the largest share of card payments at 27,08 percent, followed by British guests at 16,59 percent and Dutch holidaymakers at 12,84 percent. Americans and Australians together account for 6,72 percent of cashless transactions, demonstrating the resort's international appeal. In Kitzbühel, German guests dominate card payments at 52 percent, while the Netherlands and the United Kingdom each account for around 9 percent. The presence of American tourists is also growing here, reaching 5,1 percent of all transactions. Schladming has established itself as a popular destination for Eastern European winter sports enthusiasts. In addition to German holidaymakers (31 percent), Czech guests are strongly represented at 12 percent, followed by visitors from Slovakia (4,8 percent), Hungary (4,7 percent) and Poland (4,3 percent).
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