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The more or less collapse of winter tourism alone could depress the growth rate by as much as one and a half percentage points, according to Badelt. “We have more than half the usual annual production value in tourism in winter tourism.”
So far, Wifo has seen a decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) of 6.8 percent for this year and an increase of 4.4 percent is expected next year. But that was calculated assuming Austria will control the corona pandemic next year and that a second lockdown will not be necessary, Badelt said.
The consequences of a second confinement
Wifo also expected alternative scenarios with lockdown: in this case, economic output would decline by more than 9 percent this year and next year there would be more or less stagnation. “The unemployment rate would also increase enormously,” said the Wifo boss.
Now politicians are being asked. Without economic countermeasures, bankruptcies and unemployment would rise further. It depends a lot on the extent to which the government currently extends temporary measures such as short-time work or fixed-cost subsidy.
