Farmholidays are fit for the future

150 members from all over Austria met from October 10th to 12th, 2023 for the autumn meeting days and the 32nd annual general meeting of the Federal Association for Farm Holidays in Austria in the chalet village of Hannersberg in Hannersdorf in southern Burgenland. In addition to specialist lectures and excursions to member companies, the program included an exchange of experiences with hosts.

Everyone agreed on the added value of a farm holiday. “Farm holidays make a significant contribution to securing the existence of farms, even in exposed locations. In this way, we create and maintain jobs and also make an important contribution to landscape conservation,” emphasized Johann Hörtnagl, chairman of Farmholidays in Austria. Werner Falb-Meixner, Vice President of the Burgenland Chamber of Agriculture, also confirmed: “Holidays on the farm and vacation at the winery have become a very important source of income for many Burgenland farmers. This type of holiday also strengthens the trend towards regionality.”

Guests want to understand agriculture

Hardly any other type of holiday allows guests to experience the everyday life of their hosts so closely. “The goal in tourism and the wine industry is to create experiences and thus added value. Farmholidays guests can “understand” agriculture together with the farmers and find out how food production works. Guests will be looking for this more and more in the future, which is why holidays on the farm are fit for the future,” says Christian Zechmeister, Managing Director of Wine Burgenland. Kurt Kaiser, marketing manager at Burgenland Tourismus, also emphasized in his presentation that the overall experience is what counts for guests. In the case of Burgenland, cuisine and wine play an important role. “Over 30 percent of our guests say wine is the main reason for their vacation in Burgenland. They appreciate the enjoyable, the friendliness and cosiness, the relaxing and original. The trend towards short vacations is also playing into our hands. Our guests prefer to go on holiday more often than to buy a house in an allotment garden,” explained Kurt Kaiser.

Farmholidays in Austria bring together around 2,300 farms with around 27,000 guest beds throughout Austria, around 120 of which are in Burgenland. The largest tourist offer group in Austria has existed for over 30 years. Farmholidays in Austria present all member companies on a common website with online booking options. The umbrella organization also implements marketing measures and ensures quality assurance.