Prepared for what lies ahead in tourism
Stay up-to-date with current, independent statistics and information on tourism in the Alpine region.
Car remains popular: Many vacationers also use their private vehicle at their vacation destination.
Season counts: In summer the car dominates, in winter more guests walk.
Ötztal stands out: Vacationers there use their cars more often than in other regions.
Knowledge for politicians: the data helps to develop targeted traffic measures.
Summary of this study
Due to the continuous increase in tourist numbers in the Alps, the associated traffic congestion and the resulting negative external effects, there is an urgent need to develop efficient transport policy measures. In addition, strategic investment in transport systems and infrastructure is required, especially considering the limited financial, spatial and environmental resources.
While the state of research on long-distance travel and tourist arrival and departure patterns is extensive, there are almost no scientific studies on tourist mobility during the stay at the destination. This lack of research data prevents evidence-based decision-making by policy makers.
The paper presents a data collection study that helps to fill a gap. This "data paper" reports on the motivation, design and implementation of a special survey on travel activities of tourists at vacation destinations. It informs other researchers about the difficulties encountered and helps them to improve data collection in their future studies.
In addition to contributing to the survey methodology, the paper reports on a rare and important data set and provides descriptive results. Thus, it supports evidence-based design of transportation policies in tourist areas. With this paper, we would also like to inspire and invite other researchers to conduct further quantitative and modeling work in this under-researched area.
Travel behavior was studied in several tourist regions in the Austrian Alps, in particular in the destinations Ötztal, Zillertal and Hohe Salve.
Findings from this study
- The study revealed that tourists use both private vehicles and public transportation. Many participants stated that the use of a private car is preferred for traveling to and from the destination.
- The choice of transportation varies depending on the time of year. In summer, almost 50% of trips are made by car, followed by walking (40%) and public transport (9%). In winter, on the other hand, walking dominates, accounting for 47% of trips, while cars (36%) and public transport (17%) are also used.
- Guests in Ötztal choose the car more often than guests in the other two regions, which applies in both seasons.