Now's the time to visit Vienna

Three of Vienna’s main tourism representatives met with the Canadian travel industry last night, bringing one simple message from the heart of Europe: there’s no time like the present for Canadians to visit.

The evening, dubbed Vienna: Now or Never, welcomed Canadian travel professionals to hear from the Vienna Tourist Board, Vienna International Airport and Austrian Airlines on new developments and why Canadian travellers should place the city on their must-see list of European travel destinations.

Vienna Tourist Board

According to Elke Bachner, marketing manager, Vienna Tourist Board, there’s no single reason why more and more Canadians are discovering the city in recent years.

“It’s the direct connection with Austrian Airlines, the culture and the arts, it’s the whole package which Canadians appreciate,” she told PAX.

Those numbers have been increasing steadily over the last decade, with Vienna seeing Canadian arrivals and overnights increasing by five and 5.4 per cent respectively since 2005. In 2015 so far, the city recorded a total 6.3 million overnights and 2.9 million arrivals, up 5.4 and 6.1 per cent respectively compared to the first half of 2014.

With a rich history spanning hundreds of years, both Vienna and Austria are commemorating a number of important milestones in 2015 and 2016, including the 100th anniversary of the death of Emperor Franz Joseph next year, along with the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Museum of Fine Arts.

The city’s arts & culture scene remains strong to this day, Bachner said, with a number of important annual events including Viennafair and Vienna Art Week taking place.

Also of note are the city’s numerous contrasts, Bachner said, comparing several pairs of traditional and contemporary aspects of life in Vienna. While travellers can explore the city’s streets by a horse-drawn carriage, small ‘hot rod’ cars are also available for rent, for tourists wanting to add a little extra horsepower in their explorations; similarly, while Vienna and classical music are inextricably linked (with numerous performances paying homage to the great Austrian composers taking place throughout the year), contemporary music fans have not been forgotten, with several music festivals and events covering multiple genres.

Vienna International Airport

With its ideal location, Vienna International Airport serves as not just the main entry for flights to Austria but also as the “gateway to Eastern Europe,” as described by Ernst Holzer, senior manager - the Americas, aviation marketing & business development, Vienna International Airport.

“It’s not just Vienna you’re serving when you fly into our airport,” Holzer said, addressing Canadian airline representatives in attendance.

With Canadian travellers to Europe often looking to incorporate more than one country into their itineraries, the airport enjoys a strategic location in Central Europe, located near the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Holzer explained that upon arrival at VIE, travellers are 29 minutes from the Slovakian capital of Bratislava and within a two-hour drive of Budapest. In December, the airport will also see a new train service connecting passengers to Salzburg in the western reaches of Austria with an approximately 150-minute long rail journey across the country.

The airport sees an average 384 Canadian passengers arriving at the airport each day, the majority of them flying from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Holzer explained.

Austrian Airlines

With service from YYZ and several U.S. gateways (including a new route from Miami launched today), Austrian Airlines is continuing to grow its long-haul service to North America, explained Rhonen Azoulay, manager, strategy & business development - the Americas.

While Toronto is currently Austrian’s lone Canadian gateway, the possibility of additional service is under consideration, including the relaunch of service from Montreal and a potential Western Canada route, Azoulay told PAX.

“We are looking into it, there are some spots which are very interesting,” he said. “It depends on how the market develops - at the moment we are very happy with our Toronto route and we will continue to look into it. We used to fly to Montreal so of course it’s on the list, but also the West Coast is very interesting. Our partner Lufthansa flies into Vancouver and it’s a very popular destination from Europe.”

Austrian’s growth isn’t limited to North America, Azoulay explained. In addition to Miami, Austrian is also today launching services to Mauritius and Colombo, Sri Lanka and of the other new long-haul routes announced for 2015-16, the carrier will also fly to Manchester, Marrakech, Menorca, Bari, Odessa and Shanghai.

PHOTO: Armando Mendonca, AMPM; Rhonen Azoulay, manager, strategy & business development - the Americas, Austrian Airlines; Elke Bachner, marketing manager, Vienna Tourist Board; Ernst Holzer, senior manager - the Americas, aviation marketing & business development, Vienna International Airport.