Visit Austin Partner Content

More planners are focused on what can happen between sessions and venues. Austin’s past year of hosting more than 1,100 meetings without a convention center offers a blueprint for building better experiences around those moments.

The Skift Meetings Megatrends 2026 Report moves beyond surface-level trends to equip you with the critical intelligence you need to turn today's disruption into tomorrow's advantage.

With Austin’s convention center offline until 2029, Visit Austin and SXSW are reframing the city itself as the venue. Planners gain flexibility through decentralized event formats, while attendees experience deeper immersion in Austin’s cultural, culinary, and creative identity, turning logistical challenges into opportunities for innovation.