Prepared for what lies ahead in tourism
Stay up-to-date with current, independent statistics and information on tourism in the Alpine region.
F.acT: What are the InnoDays and what are your objectives?
Thomas Kohler: InnoDays is a 48-hour innovation sprint in which ideas are quickly turned into prototypes. We have been connecting companies with talented people from leading universities since 2013. The aim is to tackle important challenges in interdisciplinary teams, make new solutions quickly testable and enable talented people to develop their innovative strength through practical work. Since 2022, we have been organizing our largest annual InnoDays event on sustainable tourism together with Österreich Werbung.
F.acT: What challenges were on the program in 2025?
Thomas Kohler: InnoDays #SeamlessExperience was all about seamless guest experiences for sustainable tourism - with four specific challenges:
Seamless Check-in & Check-out (Tirol Werbung): The aim was to develop digital yet humanized solutions that appeal to modern travelers and incorporate the diverse levels of digitalization in Tirol's accommodation establishments. The winning team PowerBand developed a multifunctional wristband that also serves as a room key and means of payment - for smooth processes and a digitalized**, yet typical Tyrolean** guest experience.
AI-ready Destinations (Austrian National Tourist Office & Digital Regions): The challenge dealt with the integration of information from trusted sources into various AI systems so that relevant and individually tailored content is always available. The Content Coach team impressed with a smart glasses solution that helps tourism businesses to easily create AI-optimized content.
Seamless Group Pre-Booking (Schönbrunn Group): The focus was on the development of a digital, fair and transparent pre-booking process for B2B partners - even when there is excess demand. Reward Rebels presented a performance-based tier system for B2B partners**,** which makes benefits such as earlier booking windows transparently and fairly accessible.
Meaningful Nature Breaks (farm vacations, etc.): The aim here was to develop recreational offers on farms that regenerate guests as well as nature and are economically sustainable. Landg'fühl focused on pop-up nature experiences at urban hubs such as train stations - small sensory breaks that whet the appetite for authentic farm breaks.
There was also a special challenge from Mastercard, in which another winning team was awarded a prize, as well as special prizes in the categories "Most Impactful Idea" and "Highest Business Potential".
Insights into the highlights of InnoDays can be viewed here.
F.acT: To what extent are the results then also implemented in practice?
Thomas Kohler: Our aim at InnoDays is not to stop at ideas, but to develop implementable solutions that help companies move forward and accompany participants on the way to product maturity. One example of an implemented idea is IncluNet. Three students from HTL Dornbirn use audio and images instead of text to make social networks accessible to people with disabilities. The students were awarded 2nd place in the Youth Innovation Prize for this idea in 2024/25. Limifyze, a solution for personalized beverage preparation, also emerged from InnoDays 2018 and is now a successful startup.
We are already looking ahead with excitement: the next InnoDays will take place in Vienna from May 20-22, 2026 in collaboration with Österreich Werbung. We look forward to working together with partners and talented people on innovative solutions for the tourism of the future.
