The Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank (OeHT) is facing challenges in the domestic tourism industry, according to Matthias Matzer, its managing director. While sales and overnight stays remain strong due to a continued desire to travel, the profitability of companies is suffering. This is due to rising prices that have not translated into increased profits for businesses as their costs have also escalated.
Matzer cited several issues impacting the tourism industry, including interest burden on debt-heavy businesses, labor shortages, challenges of transitioning to greener practices, and difficulties in business succession. To address these challenges, he emphasized the need for significant changes to financing options such as potential interest rate reductions.
Despite a decline in investments in the past year, the OeHT remains active in supporting tourism businesses. New federal funding opportunities have been introduced such as the sustainability bonus and the Green Tourism Loan aimed at promoting environmentally friendly initiatives in the industry. Matzer stressed the growing importance of sustainability in tourism and urged businesses to invest in green transformations to remain viable in the long term.
The OeHT offers loans based on the 3-month Euribor with various incentives and subsidies available to support businesses in their sustainability efforts. Additionally, Matzer highlighted the challenge of business succession, with many SMEs in the tourism sector expected to undergo transitions in
