Vienna braces for peak New Year tourism and new figures show Austria’s birth rate falling further, plus more stories from Austria on Monday.
Vienna largely booked out as New Year tourism peaks
Vienna is experiencing exceptionally high visitor numbers in December, with hotels almost fully booked ahead of New Year’s Eve, according to Der Standard. The Chamber of Commerce expects guest room occupancy of close to 90 percent for the month.
The peak comes around New Year, when almost all of the city’s roughly 42,000 hotel rooms are expected to be taken. In December 2024, Vienna recorded two million overnight stays, generating €175 million in accommodation revenue.
Tourism officials say strong demand brings economic benefits but also raises concerns about crowd management, especially around Christmas markets and major attractions.
Austria records further drop in births
The number of births in Austria continued to decline in 2024, according to a new study released by the Federal Chancellery and reported by ORF.at. Last year, 77,238 children were born, around 370 fewer than in 2023.
The fertility rate fell from 1.44 to 1.31, with Austrian citizens recording a lower rate than mothers with foreign citizenship. The average age of women at the birth of their first child reached a historic high of 30.4 years.
Family Minister Claudia Plakolm said politics can set framework conditions, but decisions about having children remain a personal choice.
FPÖ polling stronger than ÖVP and SPÖ combined
The FPÖ is polling at 37.4 percent, putting it ahead of the ÖVP and SPÖ combined, according to the APA election trend cited by Die Presse. The trend aggregates surveys from the past five weeks.
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The ÖVP stands at 18.9 percent and the SPÖ at 18.0 percent, while NEOS remains relatively stable at 9.6 percent. The Greens are polling at just under 11 percent.
The data comes nearly 300 days after the current coalition government was sworn in.
Seventeen rescued after chairlift breakdown in Tyrol
Seventeen people were rescued unharmed after a chairlift broke down on the Hintertux Glacier in Tyrol on Sunday afternoon, according to Kurier. The three-seater Schlegeis chairlift failed due to a technical defect.
Because of strong winds, helicopter rescue was not possible. Mountain rescue teams and lift staff carried out the evacuation on foot.
All passengers were brought to safety by early evening, police said.
What’s happening in Austria today
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The Margaretha Lupac Foundation awards its Democracy Prize 2024 and Science Prize 2025 at 4pm in parliament. The ceremony includes speeches by National Council President Walter Rosenkranz and a panel discussion with the award winners.
Rail passengers should expect disruption on the line between Vienna Floridsdorf and Korneuburg due to an overhead line fault, with delays and some train cancellations reported this morning.
In sport, the men’s FIS Ski Jumping World Cup continues in Oberstdorf today. In ice hockey, the ICE Hockey League has several fixtures this evening, including Vienna Capitals away against FTC-Telekom at 6.30pm.
Today falls within the Rauhnächte period, traditionally observed between Christmas and Epiphany, which is associated in Austria with folk customs such as incense rituals and New Year fortune traditions.
Weather-wise, conditions are mostly dry nationwide. The far west and far south are expected to be sunnier, while low cloud or fog may affect some low-lying areas elsewhere. Morning temperatures range from around -12C to 0C, with daytime highs between -2C and +5C. Avalanche services report low danger levels in Tyrol and Carinthia, with isolated wind-drifted snow at higher elevations.
Coming up later on The Local
We explain what changes for families in Austria in 2026, from a freeze on family allowance and childcare benefits to energy cost relief, school language reforms and public transport price rises.
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Vocabulary
die Nächtigung – overnight stay
die Geburtenrate – birth rate
die Umfrage – opinion poll
der Sessellift – chairlift
die Rauhnächte – traditional period between Christmas and Epiphany
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