vida criticizes the German government's vision as too vague

The "Vision T" presented by the federal government for the further development of Austrian tourism has met with mixed reactions from the trade union vida. The union welcomes the goal of developing tourism more strongly in the direction of year-round employment. At the same time, the chairwoman of the vida tourism department, Eva Eberhart, criticises the fact that the actual working conditions of the employees hardly play a role in the strategy.

"One should not be surprised if there is a lack of interest among people in working in tourism. The reality of many employees is characterized by low wages, weekend shifts and numerous overtime," emphasizes Eberhart.

Good work needs more than just fine words

Vision T talks about meaningful activities, working time models that are appropriate to life phases and modern training. For the trade union vida, however, it remains unclear how these goals are to be implemented in concrete terms.

Eberhart misses a clear roadmap and concrete measures. Terms such as "authenticity", "flexibility" or "meaning" are not new and have been used by politicians and the Chamber of Commerce for years. The decisive factor is whether working conditions actually improve.

The union is particularly critical of the statements on digitization and automation. It is questionable how this is actually supposed to relieve employees in the kitchen and service.

Appreciation must be shown on the pay slip

When Tourism State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner speaks of more appreciation for employees, the union can agree in principle. But appreciation should not end with announcements.

Currently, the employers are only offering a three percent wage increase in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. At the same time, inflation is currently at 3.7 percent. Employees in the lower wage groups, whose starting salaries are only just over 2,000 euros gross, are particularly affected.

"No one can pay their bills on appreciation alone," Eberhart clarifies.

Red-White-Red Card exacerbates the problems, according to vida

The union sharply criticizes the strategy of the federal government to compensate for labor shortages with workers from third countries. Additional seasonal contingents and the expansion of the Red-White-Red Card are not a sustainable solution.

From vida's point of view, these measures lead to wage pressure, precarious employment conditions and greater dependence of employees on their employers. At the same time, this makes the industry less attractive for domestic workers and apprenticeship seekers.

The union warns against wanting to compensate for the labor shortage permanently with cheap and easily replaceable labor instead of addressing the causes of the problem.

Almost 35,000 unemployed people in tourism

The potential on the domestic labour market is great. According to AMS data, an average of around 34,900 people from accommodation and gastronomy were registered as unemployed throughout Austria in 2025. The unemployment rate in the industry rose from 12.7 to 13.2 percent.

For vida, this development clearly shows that there would be enough workers if the framework conditions were right.

Attractive jobs instead of staff wear and tear

The union is therefore calling for a change of course: Instead of relying on ever new recruitment programs abroad, the industry must become more attractive for employees in Austria and the European Union.

"Employees are the blood in the veins of tourism"

Eva Eberhart recalls that the employees have made a significant contribution to making tourism an important economic engine again after the pandemic.

"If Zehetner thinks that tourism is the pulse of the regions, then one must add that the employees in tourism are the blood in his veins and the Chamber of Commerce is currently working on their bloodletting."

Good working conditions, fair wages and long-term prospects are the key to combating staff shortages. This would benefit not only the employees, but the entire tourism industry and its future viability.