New SalzburgerLand Ad Campaign Launches - Declaration Of Love To Winter

The Salzburg tourism industry is looking forward to a challenging winter. Everything is being done in SalzburgerLand to ensure that the upcoming 2020/21 winter season is still successful according to the circumstances - including with an emotional winter campaign that was rolled out in the Austrian domestic market at the beginning of October.

Tourism in SalzburgerLand is also affected by the Covid 19 pandemic like no other industry. Travel warnings such as those for Switzerland from the past are on the mind of tourism professionals as well as the question of the currently increasing number of infections. And yet, in times like these, there is also positive news. Because the end of the summer season has gone a lot better than originally expected. The current tourism statistics in SalzburgerLand, for example, show 7.2 million overnight stays from May to August 2020, a result that corresponds to 70 percent of the same period of the previous year - even though May was a total failure due to the then still ongoing company closings, and so was June was still extremely cautious due to the opening of the border with Germany only in the middle of the month.

In the main season of July and August, an extremely positive trend then set in. "In July we were able to achieve around 80 percent and in August even 90 percent of the previous year's result," says Governor Wilfried Haslauer, who fully sums up the strategy of placing the main focus on domestic guests and the all-important German market is looking up.

In the case of overnight stays by Austrian guests, there was a strong increase of almost 30 percent in these two months, while overnight stays by German guests were also in the plus area with an increase of at least five percent. "With the domestic guests and those from the European local markets, we were able to cushion the failures of the international long-distance markets considerably," said Haslauer.

The "SalzburgerLand Tourism Barometer" - a survey of tourism businesses throughout the state commissioned by the SalzburgerLand Tourismus GmbH (SLTG) shows that the Salzburg hosts won't let themselves be beaten down even before the 2020/21 winter season with all its challenges.

"On the one hand, the results of our survey naturally reflect the general uncertainty, for example with regard to the current discussion about travel warnings and the general occurrence of infections. And yet a cautious confidence can also be seen," says SLTG managing director Leo Bauernberger. Probably the most important result in this context: 97 percent of all businesses are currently planning to open up this winter as well.

The current booking situation for the winter was also asked, which with an average of around 35 percent is currently well below the previous year's level. According to the answers, holiday apartments (40 percent) and businesses with farm holidays (44 percent) are currently booked above average.

The extraordinary situation, the uncertainty of many guests and the still open questions of freedom of travel in important markets prompted SalzburgerLand Tourismus GmbH to take a completely new approach in this year's communication. "We already had very good experiences in the summer with an emotional address that picks up people in their current situation and really touches them," says Bauernberger, looking back on the summer campaign, which immediately after the lockdown with the message 'The first time again think of vacation 'was launched very successfully.

The SLTG managing director is convinced that this winter is the only way a destination can win the hearts of guests and that it will be positively remembered when it comes to the booking decision at short notice. "The focus of our big winter campaign is therefore primarily our deep connection with the cold season and the many special emotions that winter evokes in all of us. In short: a declaration of love for winter!"

The campaign went on air in Austria on October 5th; it will be rolled out in the other focus markets of Germany and the Netherlands depending on the current situation. Bauernberger: "In winter, too, it is important to concentrate first on the Austrian domestic market. Everything else must be decided very quickly in line with developments - that is the situation we are in. But we are already in summer had very good experiences with it. "

The focus is on TV and radio spots, which, together with a total of 14 partner regions, should have a broad impact - because in addition to SalzburgerLand, each region also tells its own declaration of love for winter with its spot.

But one thing is certain this winter: the best marketing is safety at the holiday destination. And so in SalzburgerLand everything is done to make a perfect winter holiday possible under the given framework conditions. The safety of the guests is the focus of all considerations. "We are very positive about being able to offer an eventful ski operation while adhering to the safety measures," says Erich Egger, CEO of Schmittenhöhebahn AG in Zell am See-Kaprun and spokesman for the Salzburg cable car industry.

It is important to Egger to emphasize that skiing as an outdoor activity per se does not pose a great risk of infection. Those responsible have made provisions for the areas in which there is more contact with the other winter sports enthusiasts. Egger: "Together with my colleagues in the Salzburg ski areas, we have developed clear measures and guidelines for the safety of our guests."

In addition to the general obligation to wear a mouth and nose protection in all cable car stations as well as at chair lifts and drag lifts, for example, guidance systems and increased use of staff on site should prevent too close queuing at the cash registers or the lifts. Contactless and cashless payment is being promoted, as is the option of pre-selling ski tickets online. In ski schools there is an upper limit on group size of a maximum of ten people. And aprés ski, as we have been used to so far, will not take place this year due to the regulations of the federal government.

"Many restaurateurs and ski huts are adjusting to the new situation just like us cable cars," reports Egger. "This year, skiing holidays will be a little different from what we are used to. The first-class quality and the extensive range of offers in our ski areas will remain unchanged and the skiers can already look forward to a special season."