The current historical economic crisis is showing effects of unprecedented dimensions, which also affect foreign trade and are expected to accelerate and deepen the unfavourable development of the Austrian export industry in the aftermath of the financial market and economic crisis in 2008-09. A recent WIFO Research Brief by Andreas Reinstaller and Klaus Friesenbichler outlines options to strengthen the Austrian export industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the EU, all components of demand were impacted by the economic downturn in in the second quarter; in the UK, France and Italy, private consumption was affected to an above-average extent. In Austria, economic output in the second quarter was one eighth down compared to the previous year's level, the decline thus being less pronounced than the EU average.

After a massive decline of arrivals (–73.7 percent) and overnight stays in Austria (–70.0 percent) in May and June 2020, induced by the COVID-19 crisis, demand recuperated somewhat in July: Arrivals declined by only 26.6 percent, overnight stays by 17.4 percent. Demand was thus about 50 percent lower in the first half of the summer season 2020 compared to previous year levels. As a result, according to estimates by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), income generated from tourism shrank by 44.1 percent in the same period.