Tourism Committee: Austrian cuisine should become better known internationally

2023-04-20 20:06:42

Most of the opposition factions’ motions to strengthen the tourism industry were postponed

Vienna (PK) – At today’s meeting, the Tourism Committee dealt with proposals from the opposition factions to strengthen local tourism businesses and their competitiveness. There was a broad consensus that Austria’s culinary offerings had to be made more widely known. An application by NEOS to win the culinary guide “Michelin Guide” for a cooperation that extends to all of Austria met with a positive response across the parliamentary groups, but was ultimately postponed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens.

The application by NEOS to initiate a reform of the tourism marketing organization Österreich Werbung was also postponed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens. However, there was consensus that the committee was interested in an exchange with the newly appointed managing director of the organization.

Several applications from the SPÖ and the FPÖ were also put on hold. The SPÖ’s demands for the establishment of a tourism fund and for a control concept for training companies in the catering and tourism sectors in order to achieve an improvement in apprenticeship training were postponed.

Libertarians see an urgent need to bail out the tourism industry due to the impact of measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they are demanding compensation for loss of earnings for all catering businesses that had to close during the pandemic due to the Epidemic Act, as well as the possibility of increasing the equity of tourism businesses by upgrading real estate. According to the FPÖ, the legal framework for private room rental should also be renewed.

NEOS: Renew cooperation with Guide Michelin for all of Austria

The NEOS call on the Minister for Economic Affairs to hold talks with all relevant stakeholders with the aim of achieving cooperation with the Michelin Guide that extends to all of Austria (3201/A(E)). According to the NEOS application, the Michelin Guide is probably the best-known travel guide in the field of top gastronomy. The visibility of the culinary offer in Austria also influences the competitiveness of domestic tourism. The federal government spends a lot of money on culinary art in Austria, but the structures surrounding the “Culinary Art Cluster” are not transparent.

Melanie Erasim (SPÖ) regretted that no joint motion by the parliamentary groups on this topic had come about. From her point of view, strengthening top-class gastronomy makes sense because it has a positive impact on a number of other businesses.

Maria Großbauer (ÖVP) emphasized that this is an important topic, but it should not be overlooked that there are also other culinary guides. Discussions are already underway with Guide Michelin, in which Austria mediates . Großbauer spoke out in favor of postponing the application until a result was available.

NEOS: Reform Austria’s and make it fit for the future

The NEOS are also in favor of a comprehensive reform process for the Austrian Tourist Board. It is about enabling a future-proof realignment, specifying core tasks, making better use of synergies with the countries and making activities transparent (2926/A(E)). It is important to give comprehensive thought to how the Austrian National Tourist Office should be set up in the future and what core tasks it must fulfil. A comparison between the past and the status quo shows that the competencies of the Austrian Tourist Board have expanded significantly in many areas, said NEOS MP Julia Seidl. Therefore, now would be the time to initiate a structural reform of the Austrian Tourist Board.

Barbara Nessler (Greens) said that there were undoubtedly “construction sites” in Austria , but the application by NEOS did not indicate in which direction the changes should be aimed. From her point of view, it would make sense to invite the new managing director of the Austrian National Tourist Office, Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger, to the committee to discuss the future of tourism marketing with her. This proposal was positively received by the other MEPs.

FPÖ MP Christian Ries also said that a reform of Austria’s would make sense, especially after the pandemic, which had changed travel and holiday behavior significantly. He wanted to know from State Secretary Kraus-Winkler whether specific problems at the Austrian Tourist Board had led to the former management leaving.

State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler emphasized that the cooperation with the previous management had always gone very well and that the reasons were not to be found in problems at the Austrian Tourist Board. She was also informed in advance about the planned change, so that an invitation to tender could be made in good time. Until the new managing director takes office, the commercial manager of Österreich Werbung, Markus Haushofer, will be acting as deputy managing director, the state secretary informed the MPs.

SPÖ urges the establishment of a “tourism fund”

SPÖ mandatary Melanie Erasim supports the idea of a “tourism fund” (TUAK) developed by the union and proposes its establishment with the involvement of the social partners and experts (3264/A(E)). In view of the shortage of skilled workers in the industry caused by working hours, tip dependency and payment modalities, this would offer meaningful relief for both companies and employees, she believes. She was supported in her argument by SPÖ MP Michael Seemayer, who pointed to the positive experiences with the construction workers’ vacation and severance pay fund.

ÖVP MP Weber spoke out in favor of postponing the application, since implementation would first require an agreement between the social partners. He also warned of the additional costs and bureaucracy that would arise for companies. Committee chairman Gerald Hauser (FPÖ) then commented critically that what he saw as a sensible initiative had been on the table for a long time and deserved serious discussion. It is regrettable that the government factions apparently did not want to lead them.

FPÖ calls for a package of measures for private room landlords

The legal framework for renting private rooms and for “holidays on the farm” are partly outdated, no longer practical and in urgent need of adjustment, argues FPÖ MP Gerald Hauser (2888/A(E)). The fact is that with the eleventh guest bed, the bureaucratic effort for the companies increases massively, which in his view cannot be justified. Therefore, the provisions, which have not changed since 1957, should be made more contemporary and flexible. Specifically, his application calls for the extension of the scope of the current private room rental to include holiday apartments, an increase in the number of guest beds to 15 and a clear legal definition of services and additional benefits in relation to the trade regulations.

MP Barbara Nessler (Greens) referred to a stakeholder process on the subject that had already been initiated and spoke out in favor of adjournment in order to await the results of an expert report that had already been commissioned.

SPÖ calls for a control concept for training companies in tourism

Melanie Erasim (SPÖ) proposes a control concept for training companies in the tourism and catering industry (3308/A(E)) to take into account the industry-specific aspects of high-quality and youth-oriented teaching. Against the background of the shortage of skilled workers and the continuously decreasing number of trainees, measures to recruit and to make the industry more attractive are particularly important, she argues. Therefore, it would be important to highlight the companies that set a positive example, but also to control the conditions faced by the apprentices.

Julia Seidl (NEOS) said it is fundamentally important to counteract the bad reputation of the tourism industry, which also means that it has difficulties finding apprentices. From their point of view, an extension of the controls is not the right way. On the part of the SPÖ, Melanie Erasim and Michael Seemayer referred to the high number of apprentices who would not choose a relevant profession after completing an apprenticeship. Apparently there are problems here that should not be glossed over, said Seemayer.

Gertraud Salzmann (ÖVP) spoke out in favor of postponing the application. From her point of view, it is important to highlight the positive examples, which also exist in large numbers. In this sense, a quality offensive is already underway, in which the social partners are also involved, and which should “bring the curtain on” the good training companies.

FPÖ demands compensation for “forced closure of restaurants”

In March 2020, catering establishments were “forced to close” due to the Epidemic Act and, unlike the closed accommodation establishments, did not receive any compensation for loss of earnings under the Epidemic Act, criticizes the FPÖ. In November 2022, however, the Administrative Court also awarded an innkeeper remuneration under the Epidemic Act for the period from March 17 to 25, 2020. However, this claim only applies retrospectively to those innkeepers who had already filed an appeal against the non-granting would have filed for compensation. FPÖ MP Gerald Hauser therefore calls for compensation to be granted to those catering establishments that were “forced to close” in March 2020 and have not lodged an appeal against the non-granting of compensation for loss of earnings under the Epidemic Act (3102/A(E)).

The compensation could also be granted in the form of a lump sum in the sense of easier processing, said committee chairman Hauser in the committee. In principle, however, all companies should be treated equally. From the point of view of SPÖ MP Erasim, it is a topic that should be dealt with in the finance committee. ÖVP MP Rebecca Kirchbaumer warned that the FPÖ’s proposal would ultimately result in companies being asked to pay back. Elisabeth Götze (Greens) saw no legal basis for the implementation of the FPÖ demand and submitted a request for an adjournment.

FPÖ: Strengthen the equity of tourism businesses

The FPÖ’s demand to increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of domestic tourism after the pandemic was again on the agenda. In an application, FPÖ mandatary Gerald Hauser advocates measures to strengthen the equity of tourism businesses by giving them the option of a tax-privileged revaluation of real estate by the end of 2023 (2783/A(E)). He wanted to know from the Secretary of State for Tourism why the implementation of the measure was still failing.

Elisabeth Götze (Greens) pointed out that the federal government had already taken some steps to strengthen the equity of companies and tabled a motion for an adjournment. She pointed out that the required regulation would primarily benefit companies that already had equity capital, which could ultimately even worsen imbalances.

State Secretary Kraus-Winkler pointed out that the required regulation could not be limited to tourism companies and would therefore be much more complex. (closing tourism committee) sox