Austria tourism hits winter record while Upper Austria warns of second‑home impact

Austria’s tourism sector closed the 2025/26 winter season with a new record of 74.23 million overnight stays and 21.33 million guest arrivals, according to Statistik Austria. That represents a 2.5 % rise in nights and a 3.4 % increase in guests year‑on‑year, with the strongest growth from foreign visitors. Tirol led with 26.87 million nights, followed by Salzburg, while Vienna, Carinthia and Upper Austria also posted notable gains.

At the same time, SPÖ parliamentarian Mario Haas warned that Upper Austria’s tourism value‑add is being eroded by a surge in second‑home ownership. He noted that overnight stays in the state grew only 0.4 % – the lowest among Austrian states – and that the shift toward day‑tourism reduces overall revenue. Haas called for continued detailed, municipality‑level data on arrivals to guide regional planning and to counter the decline in areas heavily affected by second homes, such as the Attersee region.