Tourism and the hotel industry are among the sectors that have been hardest hit by the CoV pandemic. Around every fifth hotel is still closed.

Almost 20 percent of the hotel businesses in Vienna have, according to the hoteliers' association, still at least partially closed. There are probably several reasons for this: on the one hand, there is currently still a lack of demand, on the other hand, companies use the time to renovate or do not have enough staff available. "In September we are still below 50 percent of the level of 2019. I see a great challenge there - and it will remain a great challenge for the next few months," said Markus Gratzer from the hoteliers' association on ORF.

However, one sees a slight recovery, which is also evident in the booking situation for the autumn holidays. In addition to private individuals, it is mainly smaller corporate events that would take place again. “At the same time, there is also a high level of uncertainty and increasingly short-term behavior,” says Gratzer. That makes it difficult for hoteliers, also with regard to personnel planning.

Return to pre-pandemic times only in 2024

According to the current forecasts of the hoteliers' association, the difficulties will continue for some time: "Tourism will nibble for a longer time - different markets recover differently," said Gratzer. The European market is already functioning better, and the American market is slowly opening up too. The Arab markets are already showing good increases. The Asian markets in particular are causing problems: “That will definitely take until 2024. The current forecasts rather assume that similar growth figures as before the pandemic will not be achieved again until 2024. "