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42 Austria
for some guidelines in the interests of sustainable
development. Sites of cultural significance and
the physical fabric of heritage areas may need at
least interim protection until educational and
interpretative programmes can bring about positive
changes in attitude and behaviour �see
education; interpretation).
The environmental consequences of tourism are
now well documented in Australia, and support for
more sustainable forms of it is growing among
industry operatives. Several groups have drawn up
environmental codes of ethics, and regulation and
self-regulation of tourism development are widespread
and accepted, especially in the larger scale
corporate undertakings �see also regulation,
self). Benchmarking, performance indicators
and best practice environmental management
are features of a more environmentally aware
approach to tourism management. However, a
range of incentives and sanctions may be needed to
encourage the adoption of these practices among
smaller scale operators.
The future growth of Australian tourism seems
assured, with industry backing and a strong
commitment by governments at national and state
levels. The endorsement of a National Tourism
Strategy reflects this confidence in the future of the
Australian tourism product. A further encouraging
development is the establishment in 1997 of a Cooperative
Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism
as a collaborative venture between government,
research institutions and the tourism industry.
Further reading
McKnight, T. �1995) Oceania, The Geography of
Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Office of National Tourism �1996) Forecast, Canberra:
Commonwealth Department of Industry,
Science and Tourism.
Austria
JOHN J. PIGRAM, AUSTRALIA
Austria is a small country, with a land area of
83,845 square kilometres �ranked 113 in the world
in terms of size), located in the centre of Central
Europe. With a total population of 7,862,000
�1993) it has a population density of 94 inhabitants
per square kilometre. Its gross national product per
inhabitant in 1993 amounted to $23,510, which
puts it in the upper 10 per cent of European
countries.
Similar to other industrialised European countries,
Austria is showing a decline in both its
agricultural and industrial sectors in terms of their
contribution to the national product �GNP), and
has similarly seen a long-term rise of its tertiary
�service) sector, which in 1995 achieved 65 per cent
of GNP. Tourism and related products and services
occupy a prominent role within the tertiary sector.
Depending on the sectorial accounts included in
and counted as tourism activity, it amounted to 7.5
per cent of the GNP in 1995 if expenditure of
international tourism is included only, or 13
per cent if all direct and indirect tourism-related
expenditures are counted. In terms of employment,
6.5 per cent of Austria's labour force works
in tourism �1995), which puts it among the most
tourism employment-intensive countries in the
world. In the same year, Austria recorded 18.2
million tourist arrivals from abroad which, translated
into 117.2 million overnight stays, puts
Austria in terms of international tourism into fifth
position following France, Italy, the United
States and Spain. On a per capita basis, Austria's
tourist industry produces receipts per inhabitant
amounting to $2,100 �1993), the highest such figure
in the world; Austria is followed by Switzerland
as a distant runner-up with a per inhabitant
contribution of $1,200.
Although Austria's tourism has had a long
history dating back to the times of the Austro-
Hungarian monarchy, its present position has been
rather the result of post Second World War
developments. Notably, the 1960s and 1970s,
which coincided with a rapid postwar expansion
of Germany's economy, saw the development of
mass tourism fed to a large measure by the
neighbouring countries of Germany and Switzerland,
which traditionally have accounted for threequarters
of all overnight stays. The Benelux
countries, Great Britain and France usually
account for another 20±22 per cent, which leaves
a relatively small share for long-haul travel and