The Impact of the (COVID)-19 Crisis on Tourism Development in Peripheral Areas in Austria

Abstract

COVID-19 has greatly influenced and restricted people???s everyday lives worldwide, especially the freedom to travel and engage in tourism. In Austria, tourism contributes 7.5% to the country???s GDP, ranking it in the top one third of EU countries. Hence, the consequences of the pandemic have been significant. However, in contrast to the overall declining numbers in arrivals and overnight stays, domestic tourism has experienced a revival compared to 2019, with a +22.6% increase in overnight stays by Austrian guests in August 2020. Nevertheless, these trends have been unevenly distributed across Austrian regions. As the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on tourism are unclear, this article aims to provide a snapshot by analyzing the pandemic???s impact on selected Austrian regions as well as the district of Leoben, a small and peripheral tourism region. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, the article highlights the uneven geographical character of COVID-19???s impact on tourism and shows that more peripheral regions have indeed experienced short-term gains in regard to their visitor numbers–especially strengthening existing peaks. Nevertheless, there are questions regarding the sustainability of these trends because of the intrinsic deficits of these regions in terms of infrastructure and management capacities. Future research in this field should consider the unevenness of COVID-19???s impact while also analyzing (long-term) changes related to peripheral regions and their tourism development in post-COVID-19 times. A microanalysis on a municipal level could also be beneficial.