Consumer price inflation in Austria has continued to increase, reaching 9.7% in April year over year, according to the national statistics office, in a report released on Wednesday.

Statistics Austria noted the CPI number has risen from the 9.2% reading in March, and came in just below the 9.8% reading released in a flash report released on May 2nd.

Harmonized for comparison to other European Union countries, inflation also increased for April, rising from 9.2% in March, up to 9.5% in April.

The report noted that there was a major spike in utility bills of 14.7% year over year, as well as a 14.2% increase in restaurant and hotel prices. Compared to April of 2022, transport costs rose 3.3%.

Tobias Thomas, the head of the statistics office, said, “The prices for package tours abroad, which are in high demand, have increased significantly compared to the previous year and are becoming an important driver of inflation for the first time in a long time.”

Package tours with flights saw prices increase 18.5% compared to April of last year, as airline tickets rose 19.1% year over year.

The government of Austria has been facing increasing criticism as it has sought to contain inflation, which is exceeding the average of the European Union. So far authorities have relied mainly on measures such as support payments to offset the increases in costs, intervening with a price cap only for electricity prices.