ABSTRACT
Tourism and the leisure industry are vitally important to the Austrian economy and play a key role in economic growth, employment and the balance of goods and services. With foreign exchange earnings of more than €14.5bn in 2000, tourism is unquestionably one of the cornerstones of the Austrian economy, and where such earnings from tourism represent approximately €1.74 per head of population (1999 figures), Austria can be seen to have by far the most intensive tourism amongst the Western industrialised nations.
