Austrian tourism industry expecting good winter season

The Austrian tourism industry is optimistic about the upcoming winter season due to positive indicators in October and November, a spokesperson from the Federal Economic Chambers told journalists Tuesday.

The spokesperson, Petra Nocker-Schwarzenbacher, said bookings were performing strongly, and were "noticeably better" than during the same time in 2013, even with price increases of 2 to 3 percent.

Four and five-star hotels in particular are currently looking "very good," Nocker-Schwarzenbacher said, with three-star hotels faring well.

"We are expecting an occupancy rate of at least 60 to 70 percent, which in the best-case scenario could increase to 75 to 80 percent, depending on the weather," she added.

One major downside however is a drop in the number of Russian tourists who are known for being high spenders, Nocker-Schwarzenbacher said, adding their numbers could fall by about 25 percent, particularly to the regions of Salzburg and Tyrol.

To counter this, Austrian hotels have focused more intensively on tourists from existing markets, including in Austria itself and neighboring Germany.