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Elisabeth Zehetner

Staatssekretärin für Tourismus, Energie & Start-ups, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie & Tourismus

Elisabeth Zehetner, born in 1977, is State Secretary for Energy, Start-ups and Tourism at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy and Tourism. She was sworn in as State Secretary by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen on 3 March 2025.

Professionally, from November 2022 to March 2025, she was Managing Director of oecolution austria, an initiative for sustainable location development which she founded, built up and shaped in terms of its content. Prior to that, she held senior positions at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber for many years. From 2007 to 2022, she was responsible for key organisational units such as ‘Junge Wirtschaft’ (Young Business), ‘Gründerservice’ (Start-up Service), ‘Frau in der Wirtschaft’ (Women in Business) and ‘EPU’ (Sole Traders); from 2019 onwards, she also headed the WKÖ’s target group management, and from 2017 to 2019 she was in charge of communications management. Earlier stages of her career involved work on international education and EU projects.

Elisabeth Zehetner studied French at the University of Vienna, combining this with Political Science, Italian Studies and Arabic Studies, and completed a management training programme at LIMAK – Johannes Kepler University Linz. She took her school-leaving examination at the economics-focused Realgymnasium run by the School of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

Elisabeth ZehetnerStaatssekretärin für Tourismus, Energie & Start-ups
Nov 10, 2026

With an impulse for the further development of Austrian tourism, State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner provides insights into current tourism policy priorities and the strategic significance of Vision T as a model for sustainable, future-oriented tourism development. The focus is on the challenges and opportunities of a competitive tourism location in Austria and the question of how the transformation of the sector can be successfully shaped together with the actors from tourism, business, and politics.

Nov 10, 2026

There are many visions for sustainable tourism. But what determines whether they lead to concrete actions, priorities, and measurable impacts? Between strategic aspirations and actual implementation lie political decisions, institutional frameworks, and the ability to align diverse interests in a common direction.

This topic block explores the role of strategies as a translation from long-term future visions to concrete actions. The focus is on how sustainability goals can be integrated into governance structures, financing mechanisms, and corporate decisions. What prerequisites are necessary for visions to have an impact? Where do conflicting goals arise between competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability? And how can strategic ambitions at the European, national, and corporate levels be connected?

International perspectives meet experiences from politics, destination management, and corporate tourism practice and are further deepened in a joint discussion.

Framing Keynote: Marlène Bartès, European Commission

Austrian Good Practice: Marie-Louise Schnurpfeil, Linz Tourism Association

Subsequent panel discussion: Marlène Bartès, European Commission / Marie-Louise Schnurpfeil, Linz Tourism Association / State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner, Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism / Verena Brandtner-Pastuszyn, Henriette Stadthotel Vienna