June 09, 2026

Live From IPW: Tom Noonan on Austin's Next Era

26 minutes

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Austin president and CEO Tom Noonan sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a city that's in the middle of one of the most ambitious reinventions of any major American destination—and how it's keeping momentum without its biggest meeting venue.

Tom has led Visit Austin since 2016, though his career in destination marketing spans nearly four decades. Under his leadership, Austin has more than doubled its downtown hotel inventory, hit record convention bookings, and launched the Visit Austin Foundation.

But he's also navigating the $1.6 billion Unconventional ATX project—a complete tear-down and rebuild of the Austin Convention Center. The old building came down in April 2025; the new one opens in 2029. In the meantime, Austin is competing for major events without its largest meeting venue, even as it adds 36 airport gates, three new arenas, a stadium expansion, light rail to the airport, and a redesigned downtown.

In this conversation, Tom and Billie discuss

How Austin is filling the 40-month convention center gap with "miniwides"—campus-style events that split a single convention across two or three hotels, taking inspiration from how South by Southwest already operates

The new Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID), which is generating $20 million a year in additional marketing budget and earmarking a portion of new revenue to help end homelessness in the city

Why Austin's international markets are holding steady (and in some cases growing), including a new daily British Airways flight from London and a new Porter flight from Toronto

The arrival of the Michelin Guide in Texas and what it's done for Austin's culinary reputation—including the first three barbecue restaurants in the world to receive a Michelin star

The city's full 2031 transformation, including the new Waterloo Greenway, a rebuilt 6th Street, a new convention center designed as part of a park, and an old historic home—belonging to Austin's first female teacher—that will be incorporated into the convention center plaza

How Visit Austin is approaching the World Cup year (Austin isn't a host city, but it'll host Saudi Arabia for training) and what's planned for America 250

Resources

Afar guide to Austin

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This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠[email protected]⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.

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By Afar

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