Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH - Visitor Numbers In City Of Salzburg Have Almost Doubled

The city of Salzburg is again very popular with tourists: This is the result of a provisional summer balance after what experience has shown to be the strongest 2 weeks in the summer of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH for the period June 1st to August 19th. The number of visitors increased by 96 percent compared to the previous year. For example, the FestungsBahn transported up to 13,000 passengers on peak days in summer - which corresponds to the peak values ​​before the pandemic. And the attractions in the Salzkammergut were also very well attended and, after a strong previous year, were again able to post double-digit growth rates.

The new desire to travel, the beautiful summer weather and numerous attractive event highlights in the Salzkammergut and the city of Salzburg have caused the number of visitors to the tourism attractions of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH to rise sharply this summer. Compared to the previous year, each attraction was able to record high double-digit growth rates, with the FestungsBahn in Salzburg even triple digits.

Daniela Kinz, co-managing director of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH, is very satisfied with the current summer season: “Holidays in Austria are very trendy this summer. The city of Salzburg in particular is again a very popular travel destination. The number of visitors has risen by double digits everywhere and we are only just below the record values ​​of 2019. My big thanks go to our great, fully motivated employees, who make many beautiful holiday moments possible with incredible commitment".

Twice as many visitors in Salzburg as in the previous year

With 583,706 passengers, for example, the FestungsBahn was able to transport 120.3% more passengers than in the same period of the previous year. The number of passengers on the Mönchsberg lift also rose sharply by 33.25% to 134,248. In total, the attractions in Salzburg increased by 96.33% compared to the previous year, although this is still 20% behind the peak values ​​from 2019.

Summer freshness in the Salzkammergut remains in demand

Holidays in the Salzkammergut are still very much in vogue, where the number of visitors increased again by 30.3% this summer after an increase of 32% in 2021 as a whole. The number of passengers on WolfgangseeSchifffahrt increased by 25.5% to 193,526. 168,781 passengers traveled on the SchafbergBahn in summer – 36.25% more than in the same period last year. Mario Mischelin, co-managing director of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH: “With around 362,700 visitors, we had an extremely strong summer in the Salzkammergut. We are only ten percent short of the record values ​​of 2019. I am confident that with the opening of the adventure quarter at the foot of the Schafberg next year we will be even more attractive for our passengers and we will be able to further increase our visitor numbers.”

Fully booked event highlights

The event highlights and combination tickets offered in accordance with the new tourism strategy also enjoyed increasing popularity: the three pirate ship trips on Lake Wolfgang for children, which attracted visitors with a treasure hunt, pirate magicians and face painting, were fully booked three times. The already traditional picnic day in cooperation with the Salzburg Old Town Association and the VIELKLANG strolling festival in the city of Salzburg again counted more than 100 visitors.

The 5 Treasures ticket, which was introduced in 2021, is showing a strong upward trend, allowing visitors to visit all the attractions of Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH within one season. Almost 650 of these combination tickets have been sold to date. Other combination tickets (such as train and boat) are also becoming increasingly popular. Combination tickets for the FestungsBahn and Hohensalzburg Fortress have proven to be real bestsellers.

Hope for a strong autumn

In view of the positive interim balance in summer, Salzburg AG Tourismus GmbH is also full of confidence for autumn and the Advent season. Daniela Kinz: "For me, the most beautiful time on the Schafberg comes with the autumn of pleasure, when we expect a lot of local guests in particular. And we have also come up with something special for the winter season with our Advent trips. Accordingly, we are very confident about the rest of the tourism season and expect numerous visitors in the remaining months.”