The Austrians had a lot to catch up on in the summer. Vacation trips picked up sharply in summer. Not just compared to 2020 - the pre-crisis year 2019 was even exceeded.

From July to September, the Austrian resident population made 8,3 million vacation trips - including visits to relatives and friends. Compared to the third quarter of 2020, this corresponds to an increase of almost 48 percent, compared to the pre-crisis summer of 2019 that is an increase of almost a fifth (around 18 percent). "Extensive border openings and the progress made in vaccinations have more than doubled the number of trips abroad compared to summer 2020 and also increased the number of trips within the country," said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas to ORF.

Half of all vacation trips were abroad, with Italy, Germany, Croatia and Greece being the most popular destinations. Long-distance travel, on the other hand, was hardly in demand, as was the case in 2020. People also traveled more by plane again. The share of air travel was 2021 percent in the summer of 15,1, after 4,8 percent in 2020 and 19,7 percent in 2019. On the other hand, vacation trips by car and train fell proportionally.