Generali Open: Tendency continues to rise: Kitzbühel impresses with economic figures

About 60 days before the start of the Generali Open, the traditional Kitzbühel tournament continues to make positive headlines: Advance ticket sales are in full swing.

The run on the new premium seats, i.e. the shady seats on the Center Court, where drinks and snacks are served for the first time, as well as the reserved seats in category A, is especially big on weekends: “It’s certainly important to be fast here this year,” believes tournament director Alexander Antonitsch. One of those reasons for the great anticipation of the Kitzbühel tournament is of course the return of Austria’s number one, Dominic Thiem: “The anticipation for Dominic is huge. It is unbelievable what a boom the tennis sport in Austria and thus also in Kitzbühel is currently experiencing,” says Antonitsch.

But even beyond the current number eight in the world, the euphoria is not only palpable, but also measurable, as a study commissioned by the organisers of the ATP tournament at Kufstein University of Applied Sciences shows. The economic and tourist effects of the Kitzbühel tennis tournament for the region were examined – with partly sensational results: “It was important for us to know what influence the Generali Open as the second largest event in Kitzbühel has on the region and how satisfied the guests are with our tournament,” says organiser Herbert Günther. Data from 2012 were used for comparison.

A figure with a wow effect: the tourist added value of Kitzbühel’s largest summer event is now 8.5 million euros. Every year about 50,000 tournament visitors flock to the area, for about three quarters of them the Generali Open Kitzbühel is the main decision to visit Kitzbühel. 15 percent of the guests come into contact with the region for the first time during the tournament. It is also striking that the audience of the Generali Open has become significantly younger – so tennis is also booming among the young fans. Especially in the target group between 21 and 30 years of age the Generali Open has increased significantly with an increase of almost 20 percent.

The local hotel and catering industry can also look forward to the summer event, which will take place this year from 28 July to 4 August: On average, visitors stay on site for at least four nights, 80 percent of them spend the night in commercial establishments.

For many years, the organizers Herbert Günther and Markus Bodner have been working with tournament director Alexander Antonitsch to offer fans a colorful program away from the center court and to put together an exciting overall package for tennis fans: theme days around Kids- or Ladies Day are just as much a part of it as the Tradevillage, the Foodcourt or various promotions where you can be very close to the stars. Not to forget the morning pint for all local tournament fans as a tournament prelude. These campaigns also seem to be well received: “Last year 95 percent of visitors said they would recommend the Generali Open Kitzbühel to others. In a year without Dominic Thiem this is an excellent figure and fills us with pride,” said Günther and Bodner.