Anger as WKO set to abandon €8mn ÖW injection

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Business

Officials have engaged in a bitter war of words after the Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) decided to stop subsidising the Austrian Tourism Marketing (ÖW).WKO said recently it will end its annual eight-million-Euro injection from 2012 and intensify its own tourism marketing initiatives instead. The authority criticised the ÖW for neglecting emerging markets like Brazil, India […]

Green light for disputed €18mn Hilton project

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A controversial hotel conference hall building project has been given the go-ahead by Viennese officials.The majority of members of the Vienna-Leopoldstadt construction affairs council approved the Hilton Vienna Danube hotel’s plan to set up a hall for 18 million Euros. The site will be used for various events like balls and conferences, according to managers […]

Austrian brewers employ nearly 4,000

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Almost 4,000 people work for Austrian breweries, new figures show.A study published by magazine News reveals the country’s 69 brewing companies have around 3,900 employees. Only Germany’s 1,319 breweries (29,604) and the 124 Belgian beer firms (5,190) have more staff in the European Union (EU). There are significantly more breweries in Denmark (120) than in […]

ÖBB head promises ticket price freeze

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Federal Railways (ÖBB) boss Christian Kern has ruled out tickets becoming more expensive.”Ticket prices should not rise this year. We can save money in passenger services and our infrastructure elsewhere,” he told weekly magazine profil.Asked why he recently called for a 400-million-Euro injection by the state for the debt-ridden company, Kern explained he wanted to […]

Tyrol-endorsing Russians pick upmarket hotels

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Business

More than four out of 10 Russians spending their winter holidays in Austria choose four and five star hotels, it has been announced.The Tyrolean Tourism Marketing said today (Weds) 43 per cent of tourists from Russia book into the two most exclusive categories of hotels.Tyrol is the most popular destination in Austria for Russians with […]

Unemployment rate shrinks as Austria braces for EE workforce

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Austria’s unemployment rate has dropped, half a year before the country must fully open its labour market to workers from European Union (EU) states in Eastern Europe (EE).Statistik Austria announced today (Weds) 179,000 people were out of work in the fourth quarter of 2010, down by 21,000 or 10.6 per cent compared to the same […]

Up to 200,000 Austrians are full-time illicit workers

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Around one million Austrians now and then work illegally, according to a new study.Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz said today (Tues) that a million of the overall 8.5 million Austrians occasionally work without letting labour officials and insurance companies know of their activities.The university professor explained “around 100,000 to 200,000” Austrians […]

Tyrolean holiday agency snatches majority stake in UK firm

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Business

A leading Austrian travel company has acquired a majority interest in London-based Hotels & More Ltd.Travel Partner GmbH, which has an office in Vienna and its headquarters in the Tyrolean town of Ellmau, announced today (Weds) it purchased a 73 per cent share in the British company.Hotels & More Ltd. has 40 employees, according to […]

Wood heating up to 10 times cheaper than using electricity

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Business

Electricity heating can be 10 times more expensive than wood heating systems, according to an investigation.Consumer information magazine Konsument revealed wood chip heating costs 1.99 Eurocents per kilowatt hour (kWh), while electricity-powered heaters can cause expenses of up to 18 Eurocents per kWh.The monthly magazine stressed extra costs for transportation and storage of wood chips […]

Illicit work thriving in Austria

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Business

One in four Austrian companies employ unregistered staff, according to a report.The Kronen Zeitung newspaper quotes secret documents today (Tues), claiming that around 25 per cent of checked firms were found employing illegal workers. The daily newspaper reports that more than 11,200 of the overall 67,000 staff at investigated businesses between January and November 2011 […]