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Travel behaviour

The travel behaviour of the Austrian resident population is surveyed by means of a quarterly sample survey. In addition, in the case of online participation in the survey, the acceptance of tourism among the Austrian resident population is surveyed. 

The surveys provide an important basis for tourism reporting. Detailed knowledge of travel flows, their characteristics and the profile of travellers and non-travellers is necessary to be able to identify, evaluate or compare changes in travel behaviour. The aim of tourism acceptance statistics is to provide a holistic picture of the population's attitude towards the phenomenon of tourism. The results are also used as a basis for tourism or marketing policy measures.

The Republic of Austria is obliged by Regulation (EU) No. 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European tourism statistics and the Tourism Demand and Acceptance Statistics Regulation BGBl. II No. 301/2003 and BGBl. II No. 25/2012 (all documents available in German language only) to collect information on the travel behaviour of the Austrian population. In addition, the Tourism Demand and Acceptance Statistics Regulation BGBl. II No. 86/2024 (available in German language only) also requires a survey to be conducted on the acceptance of tourism by the Austrian population and statistics on tourism acceptance to be compiled on the basis of the data collected.

The results, which are anonymised and compiled into statistics, are regularly published on our website. Research institutes may request anonymised data on the travel behaviour for scientific purposes. The Statistical Office of the European Community (Eurostat) receives an anonymised data set of the travel behaviour for statistical analyses.

Statistical confidentiality and data protection are among our most important principles. Comprehensive data protection information is available in our data protection sheet.

A data collection of all people in Austria is not possible because it would be too time intensive and, above all, cost-prohibitive. Therefore, a sample survey is carried out – by means of which the entire population living in Austria is to be represented as accurately as possible. The selection frame is provided by the Central Register of Residents (ZMR); the addresses are drawn at random and the telephone numbers are taken from the public telephone directory (Herold). The aim is to interview 3 500 people between the ages of 15 and 85 who live in Austria.

Participants are informed via letter that they have been selected for the survey and are invited to answer the online questionnaire. It is possible that you will also be contacted by telephone to do the interview, in which case you will also receive a letter.

Even though participation in the survey is voluntary, it is of great importance to achieve the highest possible response rate in order to be able to guarantee the representativeness and thus quality necessary for the compilation of statistics.

The data collection on the travel behaviour and tourism acceptance of the Austrian resident population is conducted quarterly, always in the following month after the reference period has ended (e.g. the survey on the 1st quarter is conducted in April). The exact period of the survey is communicated accordingly in the letter (advance notice).

Do you need help filling out the questionnaire or have questions about the survey? 

By telephone at +43 1 71128-8001 (Mo.–Thu. 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) or by e-mail (reisen@statistik.gv.at)

Would you prefer to complete the survey on your travel behaviour by telephone?

Contact us by telephone at +43 1 71128-8001 (Mo.–Thu. 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.) or tell us your preferred date and time (between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. from 28 April to 30 April 2025 and between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on 30 April 2025) and telephone number by e-mail (reisen@statistik.gv.at), so that we can reach you by telephone!  

Telephone studio: available between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. from Monday, 28 April, to Wednesday, 30 April 2025, as well as Wednesday, 30 April 2025, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

We ask you to keep records of your trips available if possible, especially regarding travel expenses (total costs of the trip, costs for transport, accommodation, other expenses for goods and services on site), to keep the interview as short as possible.

Even if you did not travel during the relevant period, this information is important to us as well, so please participate in the survey if this applies to you.

The first part of the questionnaire is about whether you travelled in the reporting quarter (1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025) and if so, we would like to find out more about your holiday and business trips with and without overnight stays. The departure of the trip must have taken place in the reporting quarter. Even if you have not travelled during this period, we would ask you to take part in this survey if you have received a letter. 

In the second part (only for online participation) your attitude towards tourism in Austria is surveyed. 

Holiday trips are all private trips outside the usual environment (direct living environment and place of work). This includes visits to relatives and friends, trips to the secondary residence and other trips for recreational or leisure purposes. Business trips include all trips outside the usual environment that are made for professional or business purposes.

In addition to the profile of domestic and trips abroad (e.g. length of stay, destination, accommodation and expenditure), the profile of travellers and non-travellers (socio-demographic characteristics) is collected.

Access the online-questionnaire 

Download: Questionnaire 

Last updated on 2025-03-27.