Despite a weak economy, Austrians’ enthusiasm for travel remains undiminished. In 2024, they took a record 27.5 million holiday trips with at least one overnight stay, according to new data published Wednesday by Statistics Austria. The travel intensity rate—i.e., the share of the population taking at least one holiday—stood at 76.4%, nearly matching the record set in 2023. However, this also means that nearly a quarter of Austrians did not take a holiday trip.
Roughly 47.3% of holidays were spent within Austria. The most visited provinces were:
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Styria (19.7%)
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Lower Austria (14.8%)
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Salzburg (13.5%)
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Abroad, the most popular countries were:
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Italy (19.8%)
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Germany (14.7%)
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Croatia (11.8%)
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Long-haul travel outside Europe rose to 7.9%, up from 6.5% in the previous year.
Air travel gained popularity, accounting for 18.7% of all holiday trips. Rail travel, by contrast, declined: only 13.6% of trips were taken by train in 2024, down from 15.1% in 2023. Cars remained by far the most common mode of travel, used in 61% of all trips.
Leisure holidays made up the largest share at 28.9%, followed closely by visits to family and friends at 25.6%. More than half of all trips lasted three nights or fewer, while 47.6% extended to four nights or more.
Almost One in Four Stayed Home
Around 1.83 million people in Austria—23.6% of those aged 15 and older—did not take any overnight holiday in 2024. The main reasons cited were:
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No occasion or interest (49.7%)
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Financial constraints (34.7%)
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Health issues (29.9%)
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Family or work commitments (23.7%)
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Business travel declined slightly to 3.81 million trips in 2024. Altogether, Austrians took 31.3 million leisure and business trips during the year.
