Tourism State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner has presented a 25-point Action Plan 2026/27 designed to turn Austria’s successful visitor numbers into higher profitability and year-round employment. The plan, part of the long-term Vision T strategy running to 2035, was announced on 23 October after industry margins in quality hotels fell from 30 % to 20 % since 2021. Key measures include faster and more flexible investment grants via the Austria Hotel and Tourism Bank (ÖHT), an expansion of risk-capital instruments for innovative accommodation projects and intensified international marketing by Austria Tourism to attract higher-spending guests in shoulder seasons. Labour mobility is central: the sector currently employs about 136,000 FTEs but needs 160,000 by 2035. The ministry is pushing for a prompt agreement with the Social Ministry on the 2026/27 quota for non-EU winter season workers – a regulation the hotel association says is “urgently needed for planning security”. Zehetner hinted that the quota could be widened if the family-reunification cap and asylum numbers remain low. Other actions target the preservation of rural guesthouses, digital skills training and studies into venture-capital models for generational business transfers. Combined, the government hopes to raise annual tourism value-added from €23 billion to €35 billion by 2035. While the plan has been welcomed, consultants note that without quicker work-permit processing times and affordable staff housing in alpine resorts many goals will be hard to meet. Companies should monitor forthcoming ordinances on seasonal-worker quotas and prepare early recruitment pipelines, especially from Western Balkan countries.
Source: New Business
