Vienna eyes 15% growth in tourist arrivals from India in 2018

Vienna, the capital of Austria, is eyeing 15 percent increase in footfalls from India this year with focus on the family traveller segment, an official said.

"Last year has been an exceptional year with over 58,000 Indians spending nearly 128,000 bed nights in Austria. It was 11 percent increase over 2016.

"We feel the growth momentum has begun and this year we expect the tourist arrivals from India to be 15 percent higher," Vienna Tourist Board Public Relations Manager Isabella Rauter told PTI here.

Moreover, she said, the growth will be driven by Vienna Tourist Board's active marketing in key focus markets and targeting the family segment.

Overall, Vienna hosted 15.5 million visitor bed nights for travellers across the world, she added.

"The welcoming attitude of the people of Vienna helped ensure that visitors have delightful experiences with wonderful memories," Rauter said.

Besides family, Vienna is ideal for weddings, honeymoon, Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and young travellers.

"Each year we are focusing on one segment to build awareness about Vienna as a destination. Last year we promoted the young travellers segment in India, which did pretty well," she added.

With its coffee houses, culture, music concerts, theatre, museums, food and wine, open green spaces and countless parks, amusement parks, children's museums and zoo, Vienna has something for all age groups, she added.

Vienna, she said, is positioned as a premium luxury destination mainly targeting the upper middle class, middle class and first time travellers from India.

Moreover, the Austrian capital is well connected with other European countries, with major European trunk routes and inter-regional rail links passing through Vienna making it a convenient destination.

"Vienna is the starting point for trips along the Danube to Salzburg in Upper Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia, or Budapest in Hungary. The Vienna-Prague-Budapest Golden Triangle holiday combo is usually covered by most Indians," Rauter said.

Prague and Budapest are barely a three-hour road trip from Vienna, which makes the city a major attraction for Indians, she added.