Mountain profile study 2023-24

Initial situation

With almost 53.4 million overnight stays, Germany will be the largest source market for tourism in Austria in 2022 (Statistik Austria, 2023). Neighbouring Germany plays a particularly important role for the federal state of Tyrol. For this reason, a representative study by the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI Tourismus) in the source market Germany on the topic of vacations in the mountainsas an MCI mountain profile study is intended to reveal the motives behind the travel and booking behaviour of Germans. The study is a new edition of the study Holiday in the Mountains from 2003 and 2014, which has already been conducted twice (Siller et al., 2015; Siller & Kausl, 2004). This study is therefore intended to expand on the findings of the two previous successful studies and shed light on expected changes in travel behavior in the DACH region.

Central objectives

• Visualization of existing associations, attitudes and wishes of the source markets with regard to summer and winter vacations in the mountains
• Visualization of changes in vacation motives and travel behavior

Method - survey

Over 2000 people in Germany and over 400 people in Austria and Switzerland were surveyed via an online questionnaire by a renowned market research institute. The survey results obtained via the panel are representative in terms of age (from 16 years), gender and region.

Results

Key findings | Winter | Germany

• 25% of Germans have already spent a winter vacation in the mountains.
• SNOW | SKIING is the No.1 factor for positive associations.
• TOO MANY TOURISTS: INSIDE is the No.1 factor for negative associations.
• LANDSCAPE and NATURE EXPERIENCE, FEELING OF LIFE, COMFORT and ACTIVITY are central motifs of Experts.
• SKIING is the clear No. 1 winter activity for Experts, WINTER HIKING the main activity for Beginners and Advanced.

Results for the source market Germany (winter) can be found in the Executive Summary.

Results for the DACH source markets (summer) can be found in the TWQ article.

Literature

Siller, H. & Kausl, I. (2004). Vacation in the mountains. Innsbruck. MCI Management Center Innsbruck.

Siller, H., Zehrer, A., Fehringer, A., Leitner, T. & Kausl, I. (2014). MCI Mountain Profile Study: Summer and Winter Holidays in the Mountains, Guest Survey Germany 2014. Innsbruck. MCI Management Center Innsbruck.

Statistics Austria. (2023). Tourism in Austria 2022. Vienna. https://www.statistik.at/services/tools/services/publikationen/detail/1599

Contact:

Prof. Hubert J. Siller

hubert.siller@mci.edu

Denise Fecker MSc

denise.f ecker@mci.edu