Many hotel bosses expect summer overnights increase

Categories
Business

The Austrian tourism industry is in an optimistic mood as more than four in ten hotel managers expect more overnights this summer.Thomas Reisenzahn, general secretary of Austrian Hotel Industry Association (ÖHV), said today (Thurs) 41 per cent of hoteliers are braced for more guests this season compared to last summer.He stressed only 13 per cent […]

German triumph serves up top TV figures

Categories
Lifestyle

More than one million Austrians tuned in as Germany proceeded in the Football World Cup last night (Weds).Official figures presented today show that 873,000 Austrians followed national broadcaster ORF’s live coverage of the final group D matches Germany vs. Ghana (1-0) and Australia vs. Serbia (2-1).Around 223,000 Austrian TV consumers meanwhile watched German station ARD’s […]

Number of Austrian fatalities abroad on the rise

Categories
General News

The number of Austrians dying abroad soared in 2009, it has been announced.Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said today (Tues) 1,071 Austrian citizens died while abroad last year, up by around 10 per cent compared to 2008.”The number of Austrians who died in other countries was 959 in 2008,” the spokesman for the foreign affairs ministry said. He […]

Austrian car fuel prices below European average

Categories
Business

Austrian car petrol prices are lower than the European average.German motorists association ACE Auto Club Europa said today (Fri) Turkey topped the ranking with an average 1.88 Euros for one litre of petrol. It said fuel was cheapest in Russia where drivers pay just around 81 cents.ACE Auto Club Europa said car petrol cost an […]

SUV sales soar across Austria

Categories
Business

Environmentalists’ concerns are rising as traffic researchers report a boom in sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).Traffic Club Austria (VCÖ) official Christian Gratzer said today (Thurs) there has been a 25 per cent year on year rise in sale figures of the gas-guzzling cars in Austria in the first five months of 2010.Gratzer said most […]

Italy and Croatia go head to head in car trip ranking

Categories
General News

Italy and Croatia are neck-and-neck as Austrians’ most popular destination for car holiday trips.Motorist association Arbö said today (Weds) it expected and equal number (18 per cent) of Austrians to go by car to Italy and Croatia this summer.Germany comes second with a share of 10 per cent, while Austria itself is third with nine […]

‘Herminator’ tips on Argentine victory but supports Honduras

Categories
Sports

Skiing legend Hermann Maier and football hero Herbert Prohaska tip on Argentina to win the Football World Cup.Two-time Olympic gold medallist Maier, who announced his retirement in October, said today (Thurs) he expected the team managed by Diego Maradona to win the tournament which will be kicked off by a big ceremony tonight.The 38-year-old – […]

Study shows most priests want end of celibacy

Categories
General News

A majority of Austrian Catholic priests want celibacy to be abolished, a survey has revealed.Researchers from Kepler University in the Upper Austrian city of Linz said today (Weds) 59 per cent of the clergy they spoke to said they backed the idea of putting an end to the ruling. Study leaders said they interviewed 406 […]

Grasser says Greece rescue was ‘worst decision’

Categories
Politics

Former Freedom Party (FPÖ) Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser has branded the rescue plan for ailing Greece the “biggest mistake of the European Monetary Union”.Grasser said in a newspaper interview today (Tues) he would have forced the economically struggling country to leave the Eurozone. This term describes the 16 European Union (EU) member states which have […]

Majority’s opinion of Google worse after WLAN data scandal

Categories
General News

A vast majority of Austrians said they have a worse opinion of Google after it emerged that the company garnered information about wireless LAN internet access when preparing its Street View service.Public opinion agency Oekonsult said today (Mon) 90.3 per cent of the around 1,100 people they interviewed told them their opinion of the American […]