Health Tourism
Health tourism is one of the most common forms of tourism in Austria.
People go to a place, for example a hotel, where wellness activities are offered, and
they relax, swim, go to the sauna or have a mudpack.
There are many ways to relax (for example a chocolate cure) but often you have to
pay a lot.
This way of spending your free time is popular with many people of every age: with
old people with health problems and also with the younger generation
who often just want to relax.
Health tourism is possible all around the year, it provides jobs and therefore
supports the national economy.
Summer tourism
Summer tourism is possible in every part of Austria. Most people travel to the lakes in
the Salzkammergut in Upper Austria or the lake region in Carinthia from June to
September.
People from all over the word come to enjoy the beautiful country in summer.
You have a big variety of leisure time facilities as for example, hiking on the fantastic
mountains, swimming in one of the beautiful lakes, doing any kind of water sport,
riding the bike or just relaxing at a pool.
The visitors enjoy the beautiful landscape, the fresh air, taste the typical Austrian
food and the excellent wine at the “Heurigen”.
On the one hand tourism is good for the economy. Many new jobs are created,
tourists spend much money and Austria gets better known abroad.
On the other hand tourism is bad for the environment. Beautiful areas have been
destroyed and are being polluted by the waste of tourists.
Winter tourism
Winter tourism is very important for Austria.
You can go skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, ice-skating and do other
forms of winter sport.
The most famous winter resorts are in theTyrol, Vorarlberg, Styria and Salzburg.
Most winter sports are easy to learn and all resorts offer courses held by experienced
instructors.
Winter tourism has a lot of positive aspacts because you do some sport in the nature
and you breathe fresh air. That´s very healthy and a lot fun.
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The government supports this kind of tourism because it brings a lot of money to the
country.
But there are some negative aspects as well, skiing for instance is very expensive and
might be dangerous. Another important point is that downhill skiing has a negative
impact on the alpine meadows.
Cultural Tourism
When people are interested in Austria’s culture, they should go to the capital cities,
for example Vienna, Linz or Salzburg or to other historical places.
Vienna is full of interesting sights, for example:
 Schönbrunn Castle
 The Museum of Natural History
 St. Stephen’s Cathedral
 Karlskirche
 Hofburg with the Lipizzaner horses
The best time to visit these places is in summer or in spring, but you can also go in
winter, when all the cities are white, that is also beautiful.
This kind of tourism is for people who are interested in different cultures and for
people who like to go sightseeing. Cultural Tourism is a good choice for everyone
who would like to inform themselves about historical events.There are many historical
places in Austria and it would be good to inform yourself about the best places before
you go there.
The best place to start the tour would be in Vienna and then to proceed to the other
locations mentioned above.
City-tourism
Group work - different forms of tourism in Austria
Key questions:
 Where?
 When?
 Who?
 What?
 Why?
 Positive aspects?
 Negative aspects?
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City tourism is really popular in Austria. You can travel to the capital city, Vienna,
and just stay there or you can enjoy other Austrian towns as for instance Innsbruck,
Salzburg or Linz.
There is no special time for city-tourism; it’s possible the whole year. If you want to
visit a special attraction you should inform yourself about it in advance. Thousands
of people visit Vienna in winter to visit the famous “Adventmarkt” in front of the
town hall with the very big Christmas tree.
Many other tourists come to Vienna in spring or summer to explore the city on foot
or to spend some time at the “Prater”.
City-tourism does not appeal to a special group of tourists. It’s for everyone who
loves to explore and enjoy the different offers of cities. Young and old, rich and poor,
men and women, all kinds of people love cities.
When you travel to a city you can explore it on your own or you can book a guided
tour. Do a little sightseeing or go shopping – simply do what you want!
You can also visit museums or just enjoy the city and its lifestyle.
There are many different reasons for a visit to another city. Firstly because you have
heard some interesting facts of this destination. Furthermore a city can be a historical
place and when you love history, you will go there. Another reason could be that you
want to see monuments or different architectural styles.
There are some positive but also some negative aspects of city-tourism. On the one
hand the country gets money from tourists and that stimulates our economy. You
can meet many people from different countries and cultures.
On the other hand, tourism is causing a lot of traffic and waste.
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