Advent sets new records in Graz
Every year, the biggest and longest event of the year culminates in the city centre of Graz with ‘Advent in Graz’. The range and programme of Advent in Graz has never been as large and varied as this year. Everything is organised by Holding Graz Marketing, which is responsible for the overall organisation of Advent together with City Management.
A week before Christmas, an initial assessment is made: In general, it is clear that the Advent markets, Christmas lights, ice cots and the like are once again making the centre of Graz a magnet for hundreds of thousands of visitors from Austria and abroad this year. A total of 1.3 million visitors have been counted in Graz city centre during Advent so far.
Visitor plus:
As a look at the available frequency data (anonymously analysed mobile phone data from A1) from Graz city centre shows, the pre-Christmas offer in Graz has already attracted more visitors this year than in the previous year: since the start of the market season (opening of the Advent markets on 22 November 2024), a total of 1,311,060 people (as of 16 December 2024) have been counted in Graz city centre this year. In the same period last year, 1,260,120 people were counted (an increase of 4 per cent).
The busiest day of Advent so far was the 3rd Saturday of Advent (14 December 2024) with 87,740 visitors.
3rd Advent weekend:
As the data shows, a total of 193,300 visitors were out and about in Graz city centre from Friday, 13.12.2024 to Sunday, 15.12.2024. The majority of visitors were female (around 55 per cent) and aged between 18 and 29 (around 18 per cent), followed by the 30 to 39 age group.
The proportion of tourists on the 3rd Advent weekend was around 15 per cent. On average, visitors spent 2 hours and 17 minutes in the city centre.
International guests:
As the figures show, many international guests also flock to Graz during Advent. On average, 8.5 per cent of visitors this year are from abroad, and on Advent Saturdays the proportion rises to 15 per cent, which is well above the annual average. The top 3 countries of origin include Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Graz Advent in figures:
- Total visitors to date: around 1,311,060 (+ 4% compared to the same period in 2023)
- Highest number of visitors: 87,740 on the 3rd Saturday of Advent
- Tourists: Period average number of visitors from abroad in December: 8.9 %
- However, a share of over 15% on the three Advent Saturdays and thus well above the annual average
Top 10 countries:
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Hungary
- Germany
- Italy
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Slovakia
- Romania
- Serbia
- Switzerland
In December, an average of 900 visitors came every day,
The average length of stay in December was 2 h 17 min, with the longest stays recorded for arrivals between 18:00 and 19:00.
