Austria Center Vienna wins the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award

“I am very proud that our venue – and by extension our team – has been honoured with the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award. This shows that our approach of always thinking ahead for our guests, anticipating trends and focusing on digitalization and sustainability was the right one. We also see this reflected in the feedback from our guests, who have rated us with an average of 4.6 stars across more than 10,000 Google reviews and given us a Net Promoter Score of 75. This is an excellent top score, as a score of 70 or above is already indicative of exceptionally high customer satisfaction, strong customer loyalty and many enthusiastic customers who actively rec-ommend a brand to others. “This shows how event organizers and participants actually experience the Austria Center Vienna,” says Susanne Baumann-Söllner, Executive Director of Congress Management and Spokesperson for the Executive Board of the Austria Center Vienna.

Modernization, digitalization and innovation: the secret to success

“We bring people together, inspire and drive innovation and modernization. The kinetic world first, polySTAGE, comprises 52 individually controllable LED elements that enable spectacular staging and transformation in the entrance hall, whilst the more than 500 m² of LED surfaces and over 100 screens throughout our venue create, for example, seamless and immersive event experiences. “It is precisely the interactive gamification features – such as check-in with a personalized welcome message, selfie sharing, panoramic selfie spots, message sharing, word clouds and live voting – that make polySTAGE an unforgettable interactive experience which our customers really do enjoy using extensively,” emphasizes Baumann-Söllner. “The completely modernized Level -2 also impresses with bright, welcoming and highly versatile halls and rooms, as well as green terraces. Our most important hall on this level, Hall D, can be divided into three separate halls in no time at all, each with its own climate control system and fully sound-proofed,” emphasizes Michael Rotter, Director of Building and Property Management. Intensive work is also being carried out with partner companies on the digitalization of processes and online shop solutions. All of this creates bespoke, emotionally engaging experiences that significantly enhance the venue’s international competitiveness and market position, even within the highly competitive corporate segment. The Austria Center Vienna invests before it becomes necessary and is recalibrating the venue. This also drives the domestic tourism industry forward.

Conferences as a key economic driver in tourism

The importance of conference centres, conference hotels and other event venues for the domestic economy is to be specifically recognized this year through the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award. According to a recent study by the economic research institute Eco Austria, the Austria Center Vienna, for example, has a GDP impact in Austria of EUR 445 million – that is around 0.1 per cent of total domestic GDP in 2025. It also generates gross value added of EUR 398 million domestically and secures or creates 3,950 full-time jobs. “The domestic tourism and leisure sector benefits particularly strongly, accounting for some 21.8 per cent. Every euro that flows into our centre has a multiplier effect on local businesses – from the hotel and catering sectors through to retail and scientific networks,” said Baumann-Söllner. In 2025, for example, one in three international conference guests in Vienna stayed at the Austria Center Vienna.

Pulling together

“For me, the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award is both a mark of recognition and an incentive – for a team that works every day to turn events into unforgettable experiences. The fact that our commitment and innovation are now also so highly valued at a national level therefore means a great deal to me personally,” the board member continued. “For me, the award is also a sign of how well our organization and the destination of Vienna pull together, develop visions and work on innovations, because the decision on a venue is usually only made after the decision on the destination has been taken. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank the team at WienTourismus, the Vienna Convention Bureau and all our partners for their many years of excellent collaboration; they are all part of our recipe for success. Only by working together can we achieve great things and create unique worlds of experience for our customers and participants,” emphasized Baumann-Söllner.

About the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award (ÖIT)

The Austrian Tourism Innovation Award (ÖIT) is presented every two years by the Ministry of Eco-nomic Affairs in collaboration with the federal states to recognize the importance of tourism and the significant, innovative contributions made within this economic sector. In 2026, it will be awarded for the seventh time, honouring event venues for congresses and conferences as cata-lysts for location and destination development.
https://www.bmwet.gv.at/Themen/Tourismus/tourismuspolitische-themen/digitalisierung-und-innovation/innovation.html

About IAKW-AG

IAKW-AG (Internationales Amtssitz- und Konferenzzentrum Wien, Aktiengesellschaft) is responsible for the maintenance of the Vienna International Centre (VIC) and the operation of the Austria Center Vienna. With 21 halls, 134 meeting rooms and around 26,000 m² of exhibition space, the Austria Center Vienna is Austria’s largest conference centre and ranks among the leading players in the international conference industry.