Austria Wants Tourists to Sign an NDA Before Visiting This Winter
In January 2026, Austria Tourism partnered with Vienna agency Wien Nord Serviceplan to launch the NON-DISCLOSURE AUSTRIA campaign. The idea asks travelers to sign a symbolic non-disclosure agreement before unlocking insider winter travel tips. The agreement has no legal standing, but it serves as a moral request for visitors to avoid posting or publicly sharing certain locations they discover during their trip.
Once signed, travelers gain access to more than 120 curated insider recommendations. These include ski slopes, scenic lookout points, wellness retreats, and small mountain huts that rarely appear in viral travel content. Tourism CEO Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger explained that travelers increasingly seek authentic local discoveries, so the campaign capitalizes on that trend while protecting lesser-known destinations.
Why Austria Is Taking This Unusual Step
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Austria is one of Europe’s most visited winter destinations. Cities like Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck regularly face heavy tourist influx, especially during peak seasons. Social media amplification accelerated crowd concentration around famous landmarks and ski resorts over the past decade.
Instead of blocking tourism growth, Austria wants to redirect visitor traffic across a wider geographic footprint. Regions such as Carinthia, Styria, and Lower Austria are poised to generate stronger tourism revenue.
The strategy also supports year-round tourism goals. While winter skiing and summer cultural travel dominate visitor numbers, officials want stronger spring and fall travel to stabilize local business income throughout the year.
Marketing Psychology Meets Tourism Management
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The campaign’s public rollout lives heavily on social media. Short teaser videos blur landscapes and censor names while hinting at local secrets. Viewers only gain full access after signing the NDA on the campaign website.
Influencer collaborations and digital amplification are handled by social agency Tacsy. In Germany, the campaign expanded offline with a large billboard in Cologne featuring a heavily pixelated winter landscape and a QR code that led directly to the NDA portal.
Creative leads Axel Spendlingwimmer and Michael Maier designed the campaign around a simple behavioral insight: when people feel part of an insider circle, perceived value rises sharply. Limiting public exposure can make travel moments feel more special.
The Bigger Tourism Industry Signal
Austria’s approach encourages discovery while slowing mass exposure. That balance protects local culture, reduces infrastructure strain, and spreads economic benefits across smaller communities.
The NON-DISCLOSURE AUSTRIA campaign launched across Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark, with global digital access available. Early industry reaction suggests the campaign could influence how destinations handle travel marketing in the social media era.