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Austrians are spending EUR 5.5 billion on vacation

  • On average Austrians are budgeting EUR 1,100 for their summer 2015 vacation
  • 61 percent want to go on vacation in the euro zone
  • 74 percent of respondents prefer using cash on vacation

Austrians are eager to go on vacation again in 2015. According to a study performed by INTEGRAL on behalf of Erste Bank, 58 percent of respondents are planning to go on vacation this summer. This represents a gain of four percent compared to the previous year. Especially persons with a good education, as well as with higher incomes, resp. professionals, want to travel. Eight out of ten of those who want to travel also want to go abroad. 35 percent are going on vacation in Austria, 61 percent remain in the euro zone and 18 want to go on vacation outside of the euro area. Especially those between the ages of 14 to 29 are attracted by holiday destinations outside of the euro area.

Manfred Bartalszky, head of product management at Erste Bank: “Compared to previous years, vacation budgets have barely changed. On average Austrians want to spend 1,100 euro per person. However, this amounts to a notable 5.5 billion euro in total, which Austrians have budgeted for vacations in 2015.” Similar to 2014, 72 percent of respondents are financing their vacation out of their savings. Both cash and cards are used for payment, whereby cash is ranked at the top with 74 percent. However, payment by card (ATM or credit card) is also highly popular with 58%. 56 percent of Austrians plan to buy foreign exchange at a trusted bank before traveling to a country outside of the euro zone. 43 percent of respondents want to withdraw cash from ATMs locally. “Especially people going on vacation in Greece should take more cash along this year, as further developments with respect to cash availability at ATMs there are difficult to gauge at the current juncture. In addition, it is advisable to take one's credit card along as a complement to cash”, says Erste Bank expert Bartalszky.

Pocket-sized currency exchange office
Erste Bank und Sparkassen offer a special service for vacations in the form of their “Wechselstube” app (currency exchange office app). The tool is available for iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded free of charge in the respective stores. “With this useful app, exchange rates can be retrieved on the go and foreign currency can be ordered as well”, says Bartalszky, head of product management at Erste Bank. In addition, current travel information is accessible, including important notices about all vacation destinations through a link to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All functions can also be used if one doesn't have an account with Erste Bank und Sparkassen.

Travel Tips by Erste Bank Experts

It is best to purchase foreign currency at one's house bank while still at home. The reason: foreign currency offices in vacation destinations are in most cases offering  unfavorable exchange rates and are charging high fees.

Caution is advisable when paying with an ATM or credit card in non-euro area countries. "It is essential to ensure that one is paying in local currency”, Bartalszky advises. “If one pays in euro, one is bound to receive an unfavorable exchange rate.”

Cash withdrawals in vacation destinations outside of the euro area are cheapest when using an ATM card (Maestro Card). In some cases, e.g. in Germany, the operators of ATMs are charging additional withdrawal fees, however, notice of this has to be given prior to a withdrawal. Moreover, some ATM operators these days more frequently offer settlement in one's domestic currency. This variant can prove costly, as conversion surcharges of up to 6 percent tend to be charged.

Keep an eye on your limits: if a journey to a country with a high crime rate is planned, one should review one's card limits and adjust them as appropriate.

If the journey is to a destination outside of Europe and cash is withdrawn locally, the card's “Geo Control” function has to be deactivated. This function is essentially designed to prevent misuse. “Geo Control” can be suspended for the duration of one's stay, upon which cash can be withdrawn with one's ATM card all over the world. After the selected time period has passed, Geo Control is reactivated automatically. Deactivation can be performed online, via telephone or by one's bank advisor – as well as with the tap of a finger in the “Card Control” app.

Smart phone travel tip for customers of Erste Bank: the Card Control app. With the help of this app limits of ATM and credit cards can be adjusted while on the road, and specific functions can be activated or deactivated or even blocked. The app is available for download in iOS and Android stores free of charge.

Experts of Erste Bank recommend to take an ATM and a credit card along, in order to cover all payment alternatives. For instance, many payment devices only accept one type of card (Maestro or credit card). Credit cards have the additional advantage that they include travel insurance.

Expert tip: in many countries inputting code is preferred over signatures in credit card payments. “One should definitely request a credit card code for one's vacation and carefully memorize it, as one keeps all payment options open that way”, says Bartalszky.

All those who have a bad memory for numbers can change the code of their MasterCard or VISA card to a customized PIN using Erste Bank und Sparkasse self-service devices.

Online backup of most important documents: In Erste Bank's netbanking, one gigabyte of storage is available for uploading copies of documents. In that way, copies of flight tickets, passports or other documents are quickly and easily accessible online.