AUSTRIAN HOLIDAYS GET THE THUMBS UP
Record numbers at Holiday World Show

25. January 2010

Austria has traditionally been a popular ski destination for Irish holiday makers. This year’s Holiday World Show also saw a new trend emerging as a record number of visitors showed interest in the Alpine nation as a summer destination.

The team working at the Austrian Pavilion hardly had a minute to spare at this year’s Holiday World Show, which ran from 22 - 24 January 2010 at Dublin's RDS. In total, over 55,000 people attended the show over the weekend, some 5,000 more than last year. As expected, many visitors were interested in skiing vacations – Irish holiday makers had voted Austria as their top skiing destination at the Irish Consumer Travel Awards in 2009. A new trend in the type of holidays that were sought after was noted as the Austrian team was inundated with requests about summer breaks. By the end of the show, the promotional material relating to summer activities was gone. Hill-walking, city breaks, spa destinations and camping proved to be the most popular requests.

Popular: City breaks to see attractions such as Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

Many of those who came to the Austrian stand had already been to Austria before and would gladly spend another holiday there. Austrian holiday destinations are considered family friendly, offer excellent service and exceptional value for money. Considerable interest was also raised by the many thermal spas which dot the Austrian landscape. Visitors were impressed by the range of therapeutic and beauty treatments offered by Austrian spa hotels.