Everyone knows Austria is a top-notch winter sports destination, and city breakers have long been drawn to its baroque gem of a capital, Vienna.
However, today’s Austria is just as synonymous with cutting-edge architecture and design and creative cuisine, as served at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant at the Hotel Rosengarten in the Tyrol.
When the snow melts a wealth of new tourism options emerge. Highlighting this versatility, and showcasing some of its hidden treasures and lesser-known regions, is a key focus for the Austrian Tourism Board for 2011-12.
There’s certainly no shortage of compelling reasons to sell the country, not least the heady mix of high-quality tourism products and surprisingly low price points. “I don’t think there’s a better place in Europe for year-round holidays, and the value for money really is quite outstanding,” says Inghams chief executive Andy Perrin. “It really doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.”
Inghams has negotiated a raft of free added extras with hoteliers, such as free bike hire, packed lunches for walkers, and reduced green fees for golfers – all flagged up in its brochure under its new Inghams Plus logo. This year the operator is also sending out free walking maps to clients prior to departure.
Flexibility
New products are offering clients increased choice and flexibility. For example, Exodus has a new tour in the Austrian Tyrol that caters for families with children as young as six months old.
“Families are becoming more adventurous, seeking unique travel experiences no matter how old the youngest child is,” says agency sales manager Dan Jackson. “This new infant trip is specifically tailored to cater for those clients and represents a first for the brand.”
On Neilson’s new Austrian Alpine Flexi Active week, guests stay in a village-style resort in the Tyrol and receive an Adventure Card, containing points that can be redeemed against activities such as whitewater rafting, mountain biking and paragliding.
As well as adding more twin-centre options, this year Inghams is trialling a new chalet hotel concept with the Sonneck, in Lech (one week half-board, including flights, from £599). Flight options are flexible too. Crystal, for example, is offering flights from 12 regional UK airports.
Get active
Outside of the winter months areas such as the Austrian Tyrol, home to world-class ski resorts like Kitzbühel, attract a different kind of active fan, drawn by the stunning scenery, fresh air and fantastic facilities such as the dramatic 175-mile Eagle Walk.
The picturesque town of Innsbruck makes a great base for exploring the region but wherever in the country clients plump for, focusing on the range of activities offered locally, such as sailing and summer glacier skiing in Zell am See, can really help clinch a sale, says Perrin and Inghams clearly flags them up in its brochure.
Crystal’s summer brochure includes experiential ‘immersion holidays’ designed to enable visitors to get the most out of its featured locations. For example, the resorts of Kaprun and Mayrhofen are tipped for climbing; Kitzbühel, Kaprun and Mayrhofen for canyoning and white water rafting; and Kitzbühel and Kaprun for cycling, with more extreme mountain biking offered in Saalbach and Mayrhofen.
A more laid-back way to drink in the scenery is on a cycle tour that follows the River Danube as it flows past pretty villages, historic towns such as Dürnstein, and stunning scenery like the Wacchau Valley, one of the country’s top wine-growing regions.
Exodus has two cycling trips that follow the river, one starting at Passau and the other from Vienna (15 days from £999, and eight days from £499, land only).
The country also boasts a number of family-friendly ‘activity centres’ like the Valley of the Games resort in the district of Zell Am See, which features a bonanza of family-friendly active options.
Water babies will love the Aqua Dome, a modern thermal bath complex in Längenfeld, in the Austrian Alps, while the plentiful spa resorts include Bad Hofgastein, home to the Alpentherme, and Kaprun, home to the new Tauern Spa – both featured by Crystal.
In the city
Austria’s historic capital, Vienna, is a must for most and visitors flock to sites like St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Ringstrasse and the Imperial Palace, not to mention the Prater funfair, with its iconic Ferris Wheel, and the Spanish Riding School, home to the famous Lipizzaner white horses.
When all that rubbernecking gets too much, there’s no shortage of great options like Cafe Drechsler, fresh from a refurb by British designer Sir Terence Conran, for weary travellers to refuel on kaffee und kuchen – coffee and cake.
Another big draw is scenic Salzburg, the home of Mozart and the setting for Christmas TV staple, The Sound of Music. Fans of the film are well catered for with Trafalgar Tours’ nine-day Sound of Music tour, from £1,150 (020 7468 4335). More contemporary delights include the Museum of Modern Art.
Tours for thought
A great way to visit more than one city is on a rail break, like Inghams’ new Grand Austrian Rail Adventure, which takes in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg, with the option of adding a stay in the village of Filzmoos.
Options at Great Rail Journeys range from a twin-centre combining the Austrian Tyrol with Italy’s Lake Garda to more niche options such as A Viennese Ball, from £1,325, which centres around attending a traditional ball at the Kursalon Wien.
Other key cities like historic Linz can be explored on a cruise along the River Danube. Collette Worldwide has two Danube tours taking in Austria, and it’s a staple for specialists such as AMA Waterways, Scenic Tours and Viking River Cruises.
New options by coach include Shearings’ 10-day Picturesque Lakes & Peaks tour. Based primarily in Niederau it takes in sights including Kitzbühel, Krimml Falls, Lake Chiemsee and Munich, Germany and costs from £549 for departures from May to September, including nine nights bed and breakfast, eight dinners, three excursions and return coach travel. (shearingsagent.com; 01942 823449)
Music festivals
To mark the 200th anniversary of composer Franz Liszt, Eisenstadt and Central Burgenland are holding a packed programme of Lisztomania (March 17-20; June 12-26; and October 19-23), while the Schubertiade festival will feature performances of works by Schubert and other composers (May 6-22 and October 2-9 in Hohenems; June 18-July 3 and August 27-September 11 in Schwarzenberg).
More contemporary delights can be had at the Top of the Mountain concert in the resort of Ischgl on April 30, which is headlined by The Killers, and the Electronic Beats festival in Graz (June 1-5), while Vienna’s Jazz Fest will be held from June 27-July 10.
Sample product
Travelsphere’s eight-day Austrian Lakes tour takes in Salzburg, the lakeside village of Hallstatt and the lakeside resort of St Wolfgang. From May-October the tour costs from £549, including flights from Heathrow, seven nights’ half-board accommodation, excursions and a tour guide. travelsphere.co.uk, 0800 112 3313
Sights on Dertour’s seven-night Austrian Lakes Walking Holiday include Abersee, St Wolfgang, Lake Scwarzsee, and the spa town of Bad Ischl. The self-guided tour costs from £859, including flights, seven nights half-board in three-star hotels, boat trips, transfers and a cable car ride in Hallstatt. dertour.co.uk/travel_agents, 020 7290 1111
Crystal has a week’s half-board holiday at the 21-room, three-star Hotel Strasshofer in Kitzbühel, including flights and transfers, from £425 per adult and £212 per child.
crystalsummer.co.uk, 0871 230 8180
