Economy, Tourism

With the famous Alps and a wealth of cultural and recreational facilities, Austria is one of the world’s top tourist destinations. A premier winter sports area, the country also has summer music festivals (including the famous Salzburg Festival), lake resorts (especially in Karnten), medicinal spas, and many museums and other attractions. In 2000 some 18 million people from other countries visited Austria. More than half of these tourists were from Germany, with the rest coming primarily from The Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and the United States. An important part of the Austrian national economy, tourists spent $11.4 billion in the country in 2000.