Anpassungszwänge im Tourismus. Entwicklungsperspektiven und mögliche Strategien (Tourism Facing the Need to Adjust. Development Perspectives and Possible Strategies)
Die österreichische Tourismuswirtschaft erleidet empfindliche Rückschläge. Für die Wirtschaftspolitik besteht Handelsbedarf,
um die internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des österreichischen Tourismus zu sichern. Ein möglicher Ausweg ist die strategische
Neupositionierung des Tourismussektors; eine forcierte Internationalisierung, die Einleitung einer Qualitäts- und Kooperationsoffensive,
die Schaffung neuer Wettbewerbsvorteile durch Angebotsinnovationen und die Erschließung neuer einkommenstarker Segmente wären
denkbare Globalstrategien.
Keywords:Anpassungszwänge im Tourismus. Entwicklungsperspektiven und mögliche Strategien; Tourism Facing the Need to Adjust. Development
Perspectives and Possible Strategies
Forschungsbereich:Regionalökonomie und räumliche Analyse
Sprache:Deutsch
Tourism Facing the Need to Adjust. Development Perspectives and Possible Strategies
Since World War II, the Austrian tourism and leisure industry has reached an important position in international competition.
Austria is one of the most tourism-intensive countries in the world. From a macro-economic point of view, tourism and leisure
activities play a crucial role for the creation of income and employment as well as for the maintenance of external account
equilibrium. During the first half of the 1990s, the Austrian tourism sector was hit by the consequences of the international
recession. Further setbacks will occur during the current business cycle upturn, which are mainly caused by special factors
but which the Austrian tourism sector cannot offset by its own force. Thus, the fall in real disposable incomes in Germany
related to the high costs of reunification, currency devaluations in some major competitor countries, and the slump in air
fares are causing significant losses in demand for holiday in Austria. The fragility of Austria's position in international
tourism uncovers a number of structural problems which have essentially remained unsolved. In Austria, tourism-intensity and
the degree of specialization in the production of tourism services are relatively high. Calculations show that about one-third
of tourism export revenues are earned on the basis of traditional competitive advantages (in essence the generous endowment
with natural, social and cultural resources). If these traditional advantages become less attractive – either because of changing
consumer preferences, new tastes and fashions, or because of losses in the quality of resources – Austria may see the size
of its tourism sector being reduced as with lower sales prices (as a consequence of declining attractiveness) many firms would
cease to be profitable, given the domestic level of wages and other labor costs. A possible solution would be a comprehensive
re-positioning of the tourism sector by way of the following alternative strategies: – increased internationalization together
with a well-defined marketing image of internationally competitive regions as air-travel destinations; – launching of a broad-based
quality and cooperation campaign; – creating new competitive advantages via supply innovations (man-made attractions); – disclosure
of new, high-income market segments. If efforts for re-positioning do not succeed the medium-term growth potential will not
be exploited. However, current changes in tourism demand suggest that tourism policy measures may only have a limited effect.