The European cities of London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Barcelona and Vienna want to work together to get city tourism going again. Among others, the Austrian Federal Railways and Austrian Airlines are on board as partners.

The tourism associations will promote each other's destinations. But "normal citizens" can also benefit from the new cooperation, because a mutual "exchange" of tourists is planned. In concrete terms, you can win city trips that include a journey with the ÖBB Nightjets or Austrian Airlines.

“Covid-19 caused drastic cuts in global city tourism, which will take a few years to fully recover. On the way out of the pandemic, city destinations have one thing in common: optimism, courage and the willingness to push ahead with the restart and strengthen the resilience of the urban tourism industry for the future. Because one thing is certain: when things start to pick up again, the cities will find their way back to their long-standing role as drivers of value creation, drivers of innovation and guarantors of year-round tourism jobs. The current booking situation in Vienna is positive, despite the geopolitical challenges that all of Europe is currently having to face. The signs continue to point to growth - Vienna's tourism industry knows how to deal with the situation and feels a spirit of optimism. The new campaign by Vienna Tourist Board, ÖBB and Austrian Airlines not only conveys this, but also carries a message of solidarity. Together, in the European network, future challenges and the further development of quality tourism can be better achieved. I am convinced of the prosperous future of Vienna's city tourism!", explains Vienna's City Councilor for Economic Affairs, Peter Hanke.

“Travelling is a civilizational achievement. On day one of the pandemic, however, we gave up our European single market and risked something that we had built up over decades. It is time to break down not only physical barriers but also mental ones and to see Europe again for what it is: a common idea, a common market. With 'United Cities of Tourism' we want to set an unmistakable sign for city tourism and at the same time make a statement against the re-provincialization and re-nationalization of the tourism discourse," says Tourism Director Norbert Kettner. “In May and June, as part of the campaign, we will send a Viennese to a European city for every 100 guests who arrive in Vienna. This would not be possible without our strategic partners Austrian Airlines and Austrian Federal Railways, with whom we have worked together for many years. I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their contribution – it is they who bring our campaign idea to life. Once again it is evident that air and rail connections are the lifeline of city tourism!”

Help your city. Travel to Vienna.

"Help your city. Travel to Vienna.” is the core message of the campaign, which has been rolled out in six European markets since the beginning of May until June 30, 2022 – and will be played out in a targeted manner in metropolitan areas using digital video seeding: in Germany (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne), Switzerland (Zurich, Basel, Geneva), Italy (Rome, Milan, Florence), Great Britain (London, Manchester), Spain (Barcelona) and France (Paris, Lyon, Nice). “We know from market research that around half of city travelers also live in big cities themselves. Covid-19 hasn’t changed their affinity for city trips – so as part of the campaign we’re specifically addressing a topic that reflects the reality of life for a large part of our audience,” sums up Kettner. The cooperation with selected influencers serves as a multiplier of the message.

Appeal to the Viennese: Join now and travel for free!

Vienna residents, who after two years of the pandemic can hardly wait to get on the train or plane to exchange ideas with their European neighbors, are invited to register at https://unitedcities.vienna.info. For every (statistically determined) 100th guest who travels to Vienna between May 1st and June 30th, 2022 from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain or France, a round-trip ticket to one of the 17 cities will be issued raffled, in which the campaign "United Cities of Tourism" will be played. In total, there are almost 2.200 tickets for a return trip with ÖBB or a return flight with Austrian (each excluding hotel accommodation and other local costs) to be won. The drawing of the tickets and notification of the winners takes place on a weekly basis and depends on the number of arrivals from the respective home markets in Vienna. They are determined using a model that uses the overnight stays in Vienna in 2019 as a basis and that also uses ongoing booking forecasts in Vienna hotels and guesthouses as well as other factors.

“With a 20 percent larger offer to European tourist destinations than before the pandemic, Austrian Airlines connects Vienna with the world. We see that city breaks in particular over the weekend are becoming more popular again and we therefore fly to the most beautiful cities in Europe several times a day," says Austrian Airlines CCO Michael Trestl and continues: "In addition to a variety of destinations, increased flight frequencies and ideal flight times, we offer our guests with the 'Austrian Melangerie' a wide selection of high-quality and regionally produced delicacies as well as authentic Austrian hospitality on board. In addition, passengers can offset the CO2 emissions of their flight and thus fly to their desired destination in a climate-neutral manner. Since March of this year, we have been the first Austrian airline to fill up with sustainable fuel produced in Austria, which emits around 80% less CO2 than conventional kerosene - this fuel is one of the key levers for achieving our goal of operating climate-neutrally by 2050!"

Winners who have won a trip to Florence, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Hamburg or Cologne can travel comfortably and in an environmentally friendly way on the ÖBB Nightjet. You can get to Munich and Frankfurt quickly and sustainably by Railjet or ICE. “Anyone who goes on holiday by train makes a real contribution to climate protection: traveling by train is 30 times more environmentally friendly than traveling by car. With the ÖBB you are both day and night. No other railway offers as many international direct connections in Europe as we do. With the ÖBB you travel directly to many Italian and German cities, but also to Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. With us as Europe's largest provider of night trains, Vienna has become the Nightjet hub in Europe in recent years. Holidays on the Nightjet already begin with the arrival: You start your holiday relaxed, without traffic jams and strengthened with breakfast,” explains Klaus Garstenauer, CEO of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG.