Travel Tips to Visiting Austria

When you say Austria you almost instantly think about winter sports and culture. These are the best two words that can perfectly describe this attractive country. Austria is located in Central Europe, surrounded by Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Italy.Austria is also known for its rich cultural heritage. This could be seen on the pride that the locals have for its brilliant palaces and buildings, their love for the Waltz and their homage to the classical composer and child prodigy Mozart. Whether you are traveling to Austria alone, with friends or with your family, here are just some helpful tips to make you get the most out of your trip to this magnificent country.

Once you travel to Austria, start your travel unraveling the beauty of the Alps Mountains. These mountains are world popular for their unmatched serene beauty and that is why they are referred as eye soothers.Hiring a car and driving in Austria will also make it easier for you and your family to vary your holiday activities. For instance, if you’re in Austria primarily on a skiing holiday, hiring a car will also make it possible for you to drive to nearby hiking trails or go rock climbing. Alternatively, you could drive to one of Austria’s main cities, like Vienna, Innsbruck or Salzburg, and take pleasure in the range of musical, theatrical or artistic offerings in Austria’s centres of culture.

Austria travel endows the visitors with a magical experience, with the snow-capped mountains, its slopes, the Apres-Ski and the Austrian “Gemuetlichkeit”. Of the Austrian tourist industry, the winter sports tourism is now a billion euro industry, with many of the cities becoming flourishing tourist spots. Skiing of the many winter sports is the most popular and Austria has a very high number of ski resorts catering to the needs of the tourists.Hohe Tauern National Park is another popular tourist destination. You can travel up to the site by car. It covers an area of about 1786 sq km and is one of the largest in Europe. Austria’s highest mountain Grossglockner lies in the heart of this protected sanctuary of flora and fauna. Even the road through the park can be said to be most beautiful in the world.

A visit to the mountains of Austria is something you will never forget. Innsbruck is the center of a large skiing area throughout the Tirol region, and is guaranteed to warm the heart of any mountain and snow enthusiast. The best ski season is from Christmas to late February, with good snow available on either side of those months. If you want to see the glory of the mountains in the warmth of summer, then visit in May or June. It will certainly be a lot quieter then.Visiting Austria for a day or two during a whistle stop tour of Europe really doesn’t do it justice. Although I’ve mentioned a few highlights, there are so many more wonderful places to visit if you really want to get a true feeling for this stunning country.

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Music Travel and Tourism

At present, music tourism is yet to be clearly defined as a distinct area within the tourism industry and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) does not yet offer any guidelines to what constitutes a music tourist. Music Tourism can apply to all genres of music from Classical to Celtic and to all countries from Britain to the Balkans and to satisfy this growing demand a music tourism industry is forming consisting of specialist music tour operators and general tour operators offering music tours. These tours are pitched at people of all ages from all backgrounds offering music holidays to inspiring and historic locations mostly during summer period.

In Europe however, it is music festivals that dominate with events such as Glastonbury attracting enormous audiences as the UK's live music scene continues to flourish. In a recent speech the Minister of Tourism for Ghana, Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah, proposed using Ghanaian music as the back bone to promote tourism in the country.

It is her belief that music can play a vital role in promoting tourism as she believes the trend in tourism is moving away from mass tourism to niche tourism such as music tourism. As the US turns its music tourism locations into commercial theme parks and European festivals get swamped by corporate sponsorship, is it really possible to promote a 'niche' music while still retaining an authentic experience? And what will happen to Ghana's music if it becomes tampered with for tourism?

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