The focus of available scientific literature dealing with second homes lies mainly on causes and structural properties. The effects of second homes on local socio-demographic and socio-economic structures, however, are less explored. The aim of this thesis is therefore to identify and describe the effects of second homes in selected Lower Austrian tourist communities. After an overview of the temporal development of second homes and their spatial structures and dimensions in Austria, survey

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... from Statistik Austria were analysed with regard to economic, demographic, and social effects. The analysis showed that second homes can be beneficial for structurally weak communities undergoing emigration and do not bring about negative effects. However, the creation and existence of second homes do not solve the economic, demographic and societal problems of the communities. Since the causes of these problems are outside the communities, they cannot be solved on the community level. Economic and demographic decline, which reciprocally influence each other, led to emigration, an ageing population, and declining birth rates in the communities Mönichkirchen, Semmering, Annaberg, and Mitterbach. Due to these demographic changes, inexpensive buildings and flats became available for the foundation of second homes. The analysis suggested that potential positive effects of second homes on the above-mentioned communities are the maintenance of building structure, the contribution for the infrastructure of the communities, the demand for services of the local economy, and the associated em-ployment of the local population. Even though these effects may slow down the economic decline, they do not represent a true solution for the structural economic problems. Second homes have no impact on the decline of the local population, which is a driver for the creation of second homes, and the resulting demographic and societal changes, such as the ageing of the population, and the decline of labour market participation. Adverse effects o [...]