Brief stay boom pressurises tourism industry

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Business

Growing interest in short-term stays and fewer German tourists left the Austrian winter tourism industry with a decline in overnight stays.Statistik Austria said today (Thurs) that hotels and guesthouses recorded 62.04 million overnight stays between November 2010 and April 2011, down by 1.1 per cent compared to the previous winter and around as many as […]

Firms asked to reduce European focus in favour of BRIC states

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Business

The Austrian economy has to up its focus on emerging markets, a government minister has warned.People’s Party (ÖVP) Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner appealed on exporting firms based in Austria to eye up business in up-and-coming economies in Asia and South America to ensure Austria remains competitive.The minister explained today (Tues) that around 83 per cent […]

Erste Bank doubles supervisory board wages

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Finance

Decision-makers at Austria’s biggest bank have been accused of acting greedily by sharply raising supervisory board members’ salaries.The Erste Group Bank AG (Erste Bank) board announced today (Thurs) that each member of the financial institute’s supervisory board will receive 700,000 Euros for its achievements last year, up from half the amount in 2009 when the […]

SPÖ adamant about anti-nuclear energy course

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Politics

The Austrian Social Democrats (SPÖ) refuse to stop calling for a nuclear energy-free Europe.The party – which currently forms a government with the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) – asked physicist and nuclear technology expert Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker to speak at its meeting in Schwechat near Vienna yesterday (Mon).The German warned that there were limits […]

Hagen named new VIG boss

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Business

Peter Hagen is to become new head of Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), one of the leading insurers in Europe.The businessman, who joined the company in 1989, will succeed Günter Geyer as CEO on 1 June 2012. He is currently also a member of the supervisory boards of steel industry giant Voestalpine and the Vienna Stock […]

BA eyes HGAA takeover

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Finance

Bank Austria (BA) chief Willibald Cernko has revealed interest in Hypo Group Alpe Adria (HGAA).The banker said today (Weds) BA was interested in acquiring HGAA’s Austrian business. He explained: “We are talking about 60,000 customers here. It would be highly ignorant not to consider this.”Cernko stressed there were “many requirements” before a possible takeover. The […]

Hitzinger gets €8mn orders

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Business

Individual power supply solutions specialist Dipl.Ing. Hitzinger GmbH (Hitzinger) has received assignments worth eight million Euros.The Linz-based firm said today (Mon) it was contracted to produce and deliver interruption-proof energy systems worth six million Euros to various business clients across Europe. Hitzinger added it also received orders for emergency power supply devices worth around two […]

Hofer attacks ‘nuclear power lobbyist’ Schüssel

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Politics

Freedom Party (FPÖ) chiefs have turned their guns on People’s Party (ÖVP) officials in the wake of detonations at a nuclear power plant in Japan.FPÖ deputy chairman Norbert Hofer said today (Tues) former ÖVP Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel must make a decision over whether he wanted to be a “lobbyist for the nuclear power industry or […]

Berlakovich wants nuclear power plant ‘stress tests’

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Politics

People’s Party (ÖVP) Environment and Agriculture Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich suggested nuclear power plants in Europe should undergo “stress tests” in the wake of occurrences in Japan.Detonations at several nuclear power stations in the Asian country, which was rattled by an immense earthquake last week, could lead to a meltdown and significant radiation.Now Berlakovich – who […]

Destination Belgrade

Categories
Travel

For many years the Croatian coastline has been a destination for Austrian tourists heading east for their holidays, but neighbour Serbia is now fast becoming a popular alternative.With up to five flights a day departing from Vienna to Belgrade, as well as night trains and international bus services, getting to Serbia from Austria has never […]