Austria Ends Lockdown / First Country in Europe to Introduce Compulsory Vaccination

On November 19, Austria made the difficult decision to enter a general lockdown to prevent a further rapid spread of COVID-19, and to prevent the health system from overheating. This included the closing of the travel and leisure sector, with hotels, restaurants, attractions and cultural institutions closing.

We are happy to let you know that the lockdown has indeed worked as intended, and the number of new infections has decreased significantly.

Austria will now end the general lockdown, as planned, on December 12, with a phased regional re-opening of the tourism sector. On December 12, all hotels and restaurants can re-open in the western provinces of Tirol and Vorarlberg, as well as the province of Burgenland, south of Vienna. On December 17, tourism businesses can re-open in Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia. On December 20, tourism businesses in Vienna will follow.

Cultural institutions and attractions, including the Christmas Markets, can re-open as of December 12, with health measures and capacity restrictions in place.

Furthermore, Austria is the first country in Europe to introduce compulsory
COVID-19 vaccination for all citizens aged 14+ from 1 February 2022.

Generally, only fully vaccinated locals and travellers, and persons recently recovered from COVID-19 will be able to visit restaurants, attractions, museums etc. Masking is also widely required.

For those planning a winter ski holiday to Austria, this is great news, as the ski season can now indeed start.

Please continue to visit austria.info for frequently updated information on travel restrictions.

We wish you good health and a safe Holiday Season!

With warm regards,
Astrid Gruchmann-Licht
Director Australia
Austrian National Tourist Office
Suite 14, 235 Spit Rd, Mosman NSW 2088

The Holiday and Travel Magazine
https://theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com.au