VIENNA — Vienna reached 13.2 million overnight stays in 2022 (+164% compared to 2021), three-quarters of the level in 2019.

Accommodation revenue grew faster than overnight stays. New innovative hotel offerings are providing a quality boost to the destination, and room supply is already greater than pre-pandemic levels, said Vienna Tourist Board CEO Norbert Kettner.

The U.S. is back in full force as the first long-haul market, he added.

“After two years marked by the pandemic, 2022 was a year of new beginnings. Vienna’s city tourism fostered an impressive growth in the course of the year and has managed to reverse the trend,” said Kettner.

Vienna recorded 5,597,000 arrivals in the previous year, up 170% or around 71% over 2019, and 13,205,000 overnight stays, up +164% in 2021 and three quarters (75%) of 2019. Net overnight revenues for accommodation establishments are currently available for January to November 2022: 758,874,000 euros (+172% over 2021) yield 84% of their comparable value in 2019.

He added: “Our adherence to quality tourism, the determined targeting of a culturally interested and affluent audience, and Vienna’s global positioning as a meeting destination formed the basis for putting Vienna’s tourism in pole position for the post-pandemic period.”

Close to eight in 10 (79%) of overnight stays in 2022 were international.

“Vienna’s tourism is approaching its former parameter in terms of internationalization, even if European local markets still were the determining factor in 2022,” said Kettner. “Vienna’s highest-volume long-distance market, the USA, has already come back with a bang, already surpassing its 2019 level in November and December. After Austria and Germany, the U.S. is Vienna’s third-strongest source market. Italy, Great Britain, Spain, France, Romania, Israel and Poland complete the top 10 countries with the highest number of overnight stays in 2022.”

Vienna’s accommodation offer has grown again, after declines in 2021. The city now counts 37,000 rooms with 71,000 beds in 398 hotel establishments. The number of rooms is 7% higher than in 2019, and the number of beds exceeds its 2019 level by 5%.

Says Kettner: “The confidence of investors in the destination Vienna remains fully intact , and extensive investments in the renovation of existing hotels and the construction of new ones are evidence that the city is emerging from the pandemic with a highly improved offering in qualitative terms and a wealth of innovative concepts,” explains Kettner. In 2019, Vienna counted 22 luxury hotels, now it has 23. “This is an asset for addressing target groups with purchasing power, from which the entire Viennese visitor economy benefits.”

In 2023, Vienna is celebrating 150 years of the World’s Fair. No major event has had a greater impact on the city’s development into a global metropolis than the 1873 World’s Fair and this year it is shaping Vienna’s annual theme with the motto “Visions and New Beginnings – 150 Years of the Vienna World’s Fair.”

“We are addressing Vienna’s history, but also showing its impact on today’s society and the city’s aspiration to shape contemporary life. Vienna is committed to sustainable urban development – highlighting this is just as important in city marketing as communicating tourist attractions,” says Kettner.