Visit Austin Won Award for 2026 Tourism Campaign
The city's leisure strategy helped offset revenue losses from the ongoing convention center closure.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Hotels
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Visit Austin earned the Marketing Momentum Award in 2026 for a summer leisure campaign that drew travelers from major hubs to counteract the impact of the Austin Convention Center closing. The initiative focused on high-income households to boost local hotel bookings.
Why it matters
The campaign aimed to fill rooms during a period when Austin's citywide hotel occupancy dropped 5.3% year over year from May through September 2025. This strategy served as a vital bridge while the convention center undergoes reconstruction through 2029.
The campaign generated 28,300 hotel bookings and $748 million in economic impact, achieving a 374:1 return on investment. This performance follows a 5.3% year-over-year decrease in citywide hotel occupancy observed from May through September 2025.
The players
Visit Austin
The official destination marketing organization responsible for promoting the city to travelers.
Austin Convention Center
A city facility currently closed for a multi-year $1.6 billion reconstruction project.
The details
To offset the closure of the Austin Convention Center in April 2025, Visit Austin targeted travelers with household incomes of $150,000 or more in New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. By shifting away from print media to custom video content and social media advertising, the agency reached 254.7 million impressions. The effort is part of a broader local strategy to manage the tourism sector while the facility remains out of commission for the $1.6 billion reconstruction project.
Timeline
April 2025: The Austin Convention Center closed for reconstruction.
May through September 2025: The summer leisure travel campaign took place.
2026: Visit Austin received the Marketing Momentum Award.
2029: The convention center reconstruction project is expected to finish.
The Texas Context
This effort follows the pattern set by the $1.6 billion Austin Convention Center reconstruction project, which necessitated temporary marketing pivots to bridge the revenue gap during construction. It reflects a wider local shift in how the city sustains its hospitality market while waiting for major infrastructure to reopen.
While the campaign targets out-of-town visitors, local residents may continue to notice shifts in downtown hotel activity and traffic patterns through 2029. The city's focus remains on keeping hotel occupancy stable until the facility returns to service.
The takeaway
The successful 374:1 return on investment underscores a pivot toward targeted digital advertising to maintain Austin's tourism profile. Residents can monitor the city's tourism impact reports for updates on hotel occupancy trends while the $1.6 billion convention center expansion remains in progress.
Further reading
For more on the local lodging market, visit Austin Hotels.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Informaconnect.
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