VIENNA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Austria's tourism industry recorded a historic high number of tourist overnight stays in 2019, said a report published on Wednesday by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO).

Tourist overnight stays totaled 78.9 million this year, breaking the record set in the summer season of 1980. The number of incoming tourists was 25.6 million, another all-time high.

This trend is also in line with the continuous increase in demand tracked by the institute since 2010.

According to the WIFO report, guests stayed in the same lodgings for an average of 3.1 nights between May and October 2019, which is less than half as long as in the summer of 1980. On balance, this shows a long-term trend towards shorter but more frequent travel and the fact that tourists stay at one destination for shorter periods of time, preferring to change locations and therefore lodgings with greater frequency.

The WIFO turnover estimates for 2019 indicate a total of 13.98 billion euros (15.48 billion U.S. dollars), topping the figure registered last year.