Facts and figures on tourism in Tirol

Last updated on 27.03.2025

Tourism in Tirol has a long history. Until the late 19th century, most visitors were traders and travellers on the important north-south and east-west transit routes passing through the region. From the early 20th century, Tirol became increasingly popular as a holiday destination in its own right.

Tyrol as a holiday destination

Tourism is an essential part of Tirol’s economy. Almost 25,000 local businesses rely on tourism. With around 50,000 employees, the tourism sector is not only important as a creator of jobs but also drives other fields such as crafts and trade.

Upswing in tourism

The earliest visitors to Tirol, who arrived more than 200 years ago, were members of the ruling elite embarking on elaborate journeys to educate themselves and broaden their horizons. From the middle of the 19th century, more and more people found themselves drawn to the mountains during the hot months of the year to cool off. Alongside summer tourism, mountaineering soon became the second mainstay of tourism in the region. It was not until the early 20th century that winter tourism began to develop.

Tourism in Tirol took off in earnest after the Second World War. This enabled even peripheral regions such as the valleys to enjoy economic development and prosperity. Until the mid-1990s, summer was the more important of the seasons – and in 1991 it brought Tirol its best result to date with just over 23 million overnight stays.

In 2018/19, the last full tourism year before the Coronavirus pandemic, 27.5 million overnight stays were recorded in winter compared with 22.2 million overnight stays in summer, representing a ratio of 55:45 %.

Tourism year 2023/24

The tourism year 2023/24 (from 1 November 2023 until 31 October 2024) showed a positive development. The number of overnight stays increased by 0.5% to 48.8 million, while the number of arrivals grew by 2.5% to 12.4 million. On average, guests stayed in Tirol for 3.9 days during the tourism year 2023/24 – slightly down on the average length of stay in the tourism year 2022/23 (4.0 days).

This positive development could also be observed in the winter season 2023/24. In total there were 26.0 million overnight stays, 1.2% up on the previous year, while the number of arrivals grew by 3.6% to 6.0 million. Since the number of arrivals increased by more than the number of overnight stays, the average length of stay dropped last winter to 4.4 days compared with 4.5 days in the previous winter. According to an estimate of the Tourism Department at the Management Center Innsbruck, tourism contributed 3.76 billion euros to the local economy last winter – an increase of 1.5% compared with the previous winter after adjusting for inflation.

The summer season also saw a stable development. Despite challenging conditions – stormy weather in September and the UEFA European Football Championships in early summer – the number of arrivals rose slightly by 1.4% between May and October 2024 to 6.4 million. The number of overnight stays decreased by 0.3% to 22.7 million, while the average length of stay also dropped slightly (minus 0.1 days to 3.5 days). This stable situation was also reflected in the contribution of tourism to the economy. According to the Tourism Department of the Management Center Innsbruck, the tourism sector contributed 2.4 billion euros to the local economy during the summer season. This is a small decrease of 0.1% compared with the previous summer after adjusting for inflation.

Facts

• In the tourism year 2023/24 (1 November 2023 until 31 October 2024) there was an increase in overnight stays compared with the previous tourism year 2022/23. 48.8 million overnight stays mean an increase of 0.5%. The number of arri-vals also increased by 2.5% to 12.4 million.
• The average length of stay for guests visiting Tirol was 3.9 days in the tourism year 2023/24 – slightly below the average of the previous year (4.0 days).
• With 54 % of all overnight stays, Germany remains the most important market. In second place is the Netherlands with 11%, followed by Austria in third place with 8.2%. Rounding out the top five are Switzerland in fourth place with 4.6% and Belgium in fifth place with around 3%.

Sources: Provincial statistics Tirol, WIFO & Statistics Austria, Management Center Innsbruck

The role of Tirol Werbung in the region’s tourism industry

Tirol Werbung is Tirol’s regional tourism board. Its mission is to boost the desirability of Tirol as a tourist destination. In doing so, the company focuses on clearly defined target groups – both holiday guests and business travellers. The key objectives comprise of the following areas of activity:

• Inspirational communication that assures potential guests of a relaxing and eventful stay in the heart of the Alps
• Brand management within a tourism context in order to increase the desirability of Tirol as a tourist destination in a target-oriented manner
• Recognising trends and proactively addressing superordinate challenges, as well as developing collaborative, future-oriented solutions with partners
• Co-operation with interested partners to attract potential guests

A subsidiary of Lebensraum Tirol Holding

Since 1 January 2019, Tirol Werbung has been part of Lebensraum Tirol Holding, which also includes Standortagentur Tirol and Agrarmarketing Tirol. These three subsidiaries are 100% owned by Lebensraum Tirol Holding. Strategic control of the Tirol brand is also carried out by Lebensraum Tirol Holding.

Tirol’s tourism strategy

Tirol’s tourism strategy is set out in the „Tirolean Way 2021“. This strategy paper is based on four core drivers from which fields of action and measures are derived:

• Tirol is a place where people both live and spend their holidays
• Tirol’s tourism industry is family-based and cross-generational
• Tirol is a recognised for its leadership expertise in alpine tourism
• Sustainability and regional focus

F.acT

For the latest detailed statistics on tourism in Tirol, please visit the website of F.acT – the Center for Tourism, Research and Media. Run by the Tourism Department of the Management Center Innsbruck together with the University of Innsbruck, it offers a huge amount of data and information via its online platform: www.fact.tirol.