Vienna eyes 100000 overnight stays from Indian tourists in 2016

MUMBAI: Austria's capital Vienna, which is becoming a travel hot spot among a large number of Indians, is eyeing 1,00,000 overnight stays from travellers of the sub-continent this calendar year.

Vienna saw 89,628 overnight stays from Indian travellers in 2015, according to data given by the Vienna Tourist Board.

"This not only reflects Vienna's continued attractiveness, but also shows that our systematic internationalisation strategy of diversifying into many different markets is paying off," Vienna Tourist Board Director Norbert Kettner said in a release issued here.

Indian families, honeymooners and conference attendees travelled to Vienna for its stately castles, culture, cuisine, music and vast green spaces and helped record 56,000 overnight stays in January-June 2016, a 39 per cent growth over the same period last year, it said.

An Indian traveller has spent an average of 2.21 overnights in the Austrian capital, it added.

Of the 3.1 million global visitors, over this period, tourists from India grew at the highest rate, followed by the Great Britain.

The top five contributors were travellers from Germany, US, Italy, Great Britain and Switzerland, after excluding domestic tourists from the home market, Austria.

"Young Indian couples are now beginning to forge wedding vows in the city, known for its love affair with imperial heritage and architecture," Vienna Tourist Board Manager, Media Management, Isabella Rauter said.