A Trafik is a kind of small shop found all over Austria with several hundred in Vienna. The term translates closest as tobacconist and a Trafik does indeed stock a wide range of cigarettes and related goods.
- Not dissimilar to the British newsagent
- Good for newspapers, magazines, lottery tickets, cigarettes, some stamps, street parking vouchers, and some public transport tickets
- See also:
The Trafik
(Easily spotted through the signs)
Think of the Trafik as a cross between a newsagent and a tobacconist.
Inside you usually find just a counter and a handful of display stands mostly stocking tobacco products, newspapers, magazines, and lottery tickets.
Even the non-smokers might wish to visit a Trafik during a trip, though. The law allows these stores to sell a curated list of non-tobacco products, as long as tobacco products still predominate.
As a result, many locations (but by no means all) sell a few extras, like the magazines and lottery tickets mentioned above.
These bonus items typically include several key commodities for visitors:
- Stamps (if you’re sending postcards)
- …and perhaps postcards and souvenirs, too
- Some of the simpler tickets for public transport
- Parking vouchers if you have a car and plan to park in the street
- A small number of snacks and drinks
Once you’ve seen a Trafik or three, you’ll soon learn how to recognize them from a distance. But the outside offers two big clues for those searching for their first one.
To start with, they commonly have a cigarette machine close to the entrance and a small mobile poster display advertising the latest issue of some glossy magazine.
But the biggest giveaway is they always (I think) feature the “Tabak / Trafik” sign somewhere. You can see such a sign in the photo above.
Tabak is German for tobacco. So Austria Tabak, for example, was the former state tobacco manufacturer. The company was fully privatised in 2001 and now forms part of the international JTI Group.
The Trafik monopoly
Back in the early days of tobacco distribution, the state primarily gave war invalids and their families its exclusive licences to sell tobacco. The distribution of such Trafik licences continues today through the Monopolverwaltung GesmbH, which is wholly owned by the state.
Current Austrian law also decrees that particular social groups should be favoured when it comes to (re)assigning a Trafik licence that becomes available.
These preferred groups still include war invalids and their kin, but particularly people with disabilities.
The Monopolverwaltung also manages regional coverage and ensures minimal geographic competition between Trafiks. This helps secure both a better livelihood for the licence owners and access to the Trafik’s products for as wide a number of customers as possible.