“The employment record in tourism impressively shows how important the industry is for the Austrian location – especially in economically challenging times,” said Labor and Economics Minister Martin Kocher. “The combination of increasing employment figures, improved working conditions and growing employee satisfaction confirms that the federal government’s measures are going in the right direction. Tourism is not only a mainstay of the local economy, but also offers numerous opportunities for people with a wide variety of qualifications and walks of life. It is important to continue to support the success of the Austrian tourism industry and to further strengthen the attractiveness of the industry.”
Throughout 2024 so far, employment figures in tourism have been above both the pre-crisis and the previous year’s levels. In November 2024, for example, there were 200,542 employed people in tourism – an increase of 3 percent compared to 2019 and 0.7 percent compared to 2023. In July 2024 there were even 250,722 people. Tourism State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler said: “Tourism has repeatedly demonstrated its resilience to crises. It is also an entry and transition industry. That’s why it offers attractive, long-term prospects, especially during challenging times.”
For Kraus-Winkler, satisfied employees are the “most important success factor” for the future of the service industry. “The increasing employment figures are a sign that we are on the right path,” said Kraus-Winkler. “A survey by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce also recently confirmed high levels of employee satisfaction. For 93 percent of employees, tourism is an attractive employer, 72 percent would apply for a job in their company again.” For Kraus-Winkler, an important instrument for increasing employee satisfaction are so-called “incentives” or additional benefits, such as attractive employee apartments and often in-house childcare options , free ski lift tickets or wellness offers.
The Tourism State Secretary also points out that the social partners have taken another positive step with the entry into force of the new collective agreement and, among other things, have significantly increased the wage level. From May 2025, a minimum gross salary of 2,000 euros will apply for unskilled assistants. Kraus-Winkler identifies the “trend towards more personnel-intensive quality tourism” as a main reason for the increasing need for personnel. Especially during seasonal peaks, this need can no longer be met exclusively with domestic employees. “This is also because most job seekers are still located in the east of Austria and winter tourism is predominantly located in the west of the country,” says Kraus-Winkler.
At the end of November 2024, around 116,080 employees in tourism, around 58 percent, came from abroad. Of these, around 58 percent were employees from EU member states. A significant proportion of foreign employees therefore come from third countries. These people can start working in the domestic labor market either via the red-white-red card or, in the case of seasonal employment, through an employment permit within the framework of seasonal quotas. “From January to November 2024, 2,595 red-white-red cards were issued for tourism workers. In the whole of 2023 there were 1,064 and in 2022, before the major reform, only 348. In addition, we recently increased the seasonal quota for third-country nationals by 490 places to 4,985 quota jobs in order to take the high level of workload into account. In addition, an excess of 50 percent is permitted during the high season so that seasonal peaks can be better cushioned,” Kocher concluded.
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