Tirol’s Alpine hosts mark 30 years as family-run stays shape tourism

Family-run accommodation accounts for about a third of overnight stays in Tirol, ORF reported as the Alpine Gastgeber Tirol association marked its 30th anniversary. The association represents 2,200 members.

Of Tirol’s 21,691 accommodation businesses, 18,066, or about 83 percent, are small-scale and family-run, the association said. They include private rooms and private or commercial holiday apartments with one to 30 beds.

These businesses offer 158,173 of the region’s 338,537 guest beds, or about 47 percent. In the 2024-25 tourism year, they recorded 16.7 million of Tirol’s 49.6 million overnight stays.

Elisabeth Kurz-Lindner, the association’s chairwoman, said private room rentals had often helped people build homes or preserve farmhouses. Tourism expert Janosch Untersteiner of MCI Tourism said small businesses helped make tourism infrastructure and leisure activities viable. They also provide income, put buildings to use and support rural communities, he said.

Demand for rooms with breakfast is declining, while holiday apartments are becoming more popular. Over the past decade, the number of holiday-apartment businesses rose by 2,110, or 15 percent, and their bed capacity grew by 24,874, or 21 percent. Private-room businesses fell by 1,731, or 43 percent, with bed capacity down by 12,399, also 43 percent. The association said some of the decline reflected business handovers, with younger generations continuing in a different format.

Untersteiner said demand for authentic experiences remained a positive sign, but success was not guaranteed. The association called for fair conditions for small family-run businesses, including support with succession, as well as more networking and exchange.