Salzburg: The small Austrian town of Zell am See in Salzburg, counting only 10,000 inhabitants, has apparently emerged as Austria's second hottest spot for Arab tourists behind Vienna, the town's hospitality Manager Hans Wallner said.
According to him, at least one third of the 73,000 Arab guests travelling to Austria per year (mostly from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) come to the small, charming alpine town of Zell am See, he told the Austrian daily Der Standard.
"There must be some word-of-mouth recommendation in Arab countries that says one has to visit Zell am See at least once in a lifetime," he said.
During the high season, Arabian guests account for up to 15 per cent of tourists in Zell am See. Several restaurants now offer halal food and the tourist information office recently hired two Arabic-speaking staff members.
However, residents are amused to observe the behaviour of their Arab guests. "When it starts raining, they run outside and cheer," Leo Bauernberger, managing director of the local tourism authority, said.
Almost all of them take the cable car for a ride up to a famous local glacier, but their kids start crying suddenly when they step onto the glacier's surface.
"It took us a long time to find out why: They simply are not used to getting cold feet," Bauernberger said. Tourism officials supply them with extra thick woolen socks and blankets.
