Austria Center Vienna Wins Austrian Tourism Innovation Award

The Austria Center Vienna has been awarded the Austrian Tourism Innovation Award (ÖIT) in the category of event venues for more than 1,000 participants. The distinction recognises Austria's largest congress and event centre for its continued investment in modernisation, digitalisation and innovation, further strengthening Vienna's position as one of Europe's leading meeting destinations.

"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 digitalisation 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 recommend a brand to others. This shows how event organisers 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.

Innovation driving competitiveness

The award reflects the venue's long-term strategy of investing ahead of market demand through digital transformation, technological innovation and flexible event infrastructure.

"We bring people together, inspire and drive innovation and modernisation. 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," emphasises Baumann-Söllner.

Alongside these digital features, the venue has completed the full refurbishment of Level -2, introducing brighter, more versatile meeting spaces, outdoor terraces and greater operational flexibility.

"The completely modernised 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 soundproofed," emphasises Michael Rotter, Director of Building and Property Management.

The Austria Center Vienna is also working with partner companies to further digitalise operational processes and online shop solutions, creating tailored event experiences while strengthening its competitive position in the international meetings market.
 

A significant economic contribution

Beyond hosting international events, the Austria Center Vienna continues to deliver substantial economic benefits for Austria. According to a recent study by Eco Austria, the venue generated a GDP impact of €445 million in 2025 – equivalent to around 0.1% of Austria's total GDP. It also created €398 million in gross value added and supported or secured 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."

A shared success for Vienna's meetings ecosystem

For Baumann-Söllner, the award also recognises the strength of collaboration across Vienna's meetings industry.

"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) and IAKW-AG

The Austrian Tourism Innovation Award (ÖIT) is presented every two years by the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs in collaboration with the federal states. The award recognises outstanding innovation across the tourism sector and, in 2026, honours event venues for congresses and conferences as catalysts for destination and location development.

IAKW-AG (Internationales Amtssitz- und Konferenzzentrum Wien, Aktiengesellschaft) is responsible for maintaining the Vienna International Centre (VIC) and operating the Austria Center Vienna. With 21 halls, 134 meeting rooms and approximately 26,000 m² of exhibition space, the Austria Center Vienna is Austria's largest conference centre and one of the leading venues in the international meetings industry.
 

Powered by Meeting Media Company, publisher of Headquarters Magazine (HQ) – a leading international publication based in Brussels, serving the global MICE industry and association community.