Vienna, Austria: Have fun and hurry back!

The Austrian cities hosting European Championship games are hoping soccer fans will have such a great time next month they’ll soon be back for more.

It’s part of the Alpine republic’s strategy to secure long-term economic benefits from Euro 2008, co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, and runs for three weeks from June 7.

Officials in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt say the tournament will give them a chance to charm first-time visitors and others who may never have considered Austria a vacation destination.

"We have the opportunity and duty to present ourselves as perfect, enthusiastic and committed hosts," said Petra Stolba, head of the Austrian National Tourist Office.

"With soccer as a theme, we can target guests who haven’t been reached before."

Stolba says Austria expects nearly 2 million additional overnight stays over the course of the competition, which wraps up June 29.

"We are convinced that Euro 2008 will shine the spotlight on Austria and this advertising value is immeasurable," she said.

It’s a countrywide effort with different regional goals.

Vienna, known for its many museums and countless other cultural attractions, hopes to add sports to its portfolio and convince tourists of all ages that the city is worth a closer look.

In a similar vein, Salzburg is seeking to move beyond being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

"People will see that Salzburg is not just about Mozart — we’re surrounded by beautiful nature and plenty of sports options," host city spokesman Martin Roseneder said.

In the region surrounding the southern city of Klagenfurt, officials hope to impress first-time fans from Croatia and Poland and rekindle enthusiasm among Germans, who have traditionally visited the area in droves but whose numbers have dropped off lately.

"Thousands of fans are coming into our region who could become vacationers down the road," said Wolfgang Doerfler of the regional chamber of commerce.

"This is a perfect opportunity and could have a stimulating effect in the long-term," he said.

Tyrol, a popular skiing destination in the country’s mountainous west, is counting on winning over fans who may never have contemplated a visit to Innsbruck when the area’s many slopes are covered in grass, not snow.

Peter Trost of the Tyrollean chamber of commerce says care should be taken not to go overboard. The key, he said, was making people feel welcome.

"You can’t force it on anyone," he said.

The 400-year-old Lindwurm Fountain is a great start to any tour of Klagenfurt. It commemorates the story of how the bravest men of the region once slayed an evil dragon, the Lindwurm, and built the peaceful village that was to evolve into the modern Klagenfurt on the site. Not a true story, perhaps, but one which is fitting given the capital of Carinthia’s literary tradition.

Literary notoriety
For German speakers, Klagenfurt is an important literary city. Locally-born poet and writer Ingeborg Bachmann lent her name to the literary prize offered annually for works in German in the city, while another local author - Robert Musil, author of the unfinished masterpiece The Man Without Qualities - has a museum dedicated to his memory at his old house on Bahnhofstrasse.

Stately homes
Less intellectually rigorous but every bit as enjoyable are the region’s wealth of stately homes, castles and chapels. High on a hill, the Hochosterwitz Castle is the most prominent of them, while the Baroque Cathedral should also not be missed. Meanwhile, hours can be whiled away blissfully next to the Wörthersee, the warmest of the Alpine lakes which borders the city.