VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Austrian population maintained a strong desire for travel in 2024, even as the country grappled with a sluggish economy and entered its second consecutive year of recession, according to data released by Statistics Austria on Wednesday.
In 2024, 76.4 percent of people aged 15 and above took at least one holiday trip, nearly matching the record level of 76.7 percent in 2023. Young people between the ages of 15 to 24 were the most keen travellers, with a travel intensity of 89.2 percent, the data showed.
"The Austrian population's desire to travel remains unbroken despite the weakening economy," said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas.
A total of 27.53 million overnight holiday trips were made last year, including 13.03 million domestic trips and 14.5 million abroad.
Domestic trips accounted for 47.3 percent of the total, while the neighboring Italy became the favorite outbound destination, taking up almost 20 percent of all holiday trips abroad.
This high level of leisure travel contrasts with Austria's economic performance. The country's gross domestic product contracted by 1.1 percent in real terms in 2024 compared to the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of economic contraction.
Reflecting this economic downturn, business travel declined slightly. Only 14.8 percent of the Austrian resident population made at least one overnight business trip in 2024, down from 15.9 percent in 2023, according to Statistics Austria.
