Chinese tourism to Austria is presently booming with a 23-percent increase in tourist numbers seen in 2017, the Austrian National Tourist Office revealed on Monday.
The 900,000 Chinese visitors last year made up 1.3 million overnight stays at hotels and other forms of lodging, an increase of 25 percent, according to the office.
The upward trend has continued in 2018, with 524,000 visitors from China recorded through July, an 8.2 percent increase over the same period in 2017. Overnight stays also saw an 11.5 percent increase, it said.
Petra Stolba, head of the Austrian National Tourist Office, said the record figures represent "by far the strongest growth of all foreign markets."
The volume of tourists from China, now the largest market for tourists from Asia, has increased five-fold since 2010.
At present Chinese nationals account for about 135 million foreign trips a year, which the Austrian National Tourist Office said could reach 200 million by 2025. The Austrian tourism industry is well-placed to profit from this growth, it was noted.
While in the past Chinese visitors typically traveled in tour groups and made bookings with travel agencies, there is now a growing trend particularly for young people to travel in smaller groups on more personalized itineraries.
In addition, it was noted the Chinese guests often use digital services such as online payment methods, which has led many domestic companies to expand their own services to cater for this demand.
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