Litigation, Claims, Contingencies and Other (Details Textual) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 Agreement	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 14, 2012
Litigation Claims Contingencies and Other (Textual) [Abstract]
Environmental remediation liability	$ 5,300,000	$ 5,800,000
Maximum potential amount of future payments	21,200,000
Guarantees relate to leased facilities expiry date	October 2017
Contract extension time period	1 year
Bargaining agreements	100
Percent of Viad's regular full-time employees are covered by collective-bargaining agreements	34.00%
Recourse provision to recover guarantees	0
Collective bargaining agreements expiration date	2013
Contribution to multi-employer pension plans	20,669,000	19,601,000	15,349,000
Original new contract possible term	25 years
Concession Contact expiration date range start	Dec. 31, 2005
Extended period of concession contract	8 years
Concession contract expiration date range end	Dec. 31, 2013
Revenue through concession contract	49.00%
Concession contract beginning period	16 years
Possessory interest				25,000,000
Estimated amount for personal property				$ 5,000,000
Operating lease term	42 years
Ground lease end date	Jan. 31, 2052
Segment operating income	0.00%