By Chris Collier
In case you missed it, the International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off™ (WFCT) 2023 is heading to the beach! The oceanside town of Virginia Beach, Va., will be the location of the annual event designed specifically for the automotive, architectural, decorative, security and energy film industries, as well as paint protection and ceramic coatings. Lock in the dates of September 20-22 as the education, exciting competitions, exhibition floor and excellent experiences head East.
Why Virginia Beach? This year’s WFCT arrives in six months. As always, show planners put effort into selecting the best city for the industry’s premier worldwide event.
For starters, the Virginia Beach area is among the largest in the nation’s metros. It comes in at 37th on the list, but is on the upswing as the 20th largest metro area gaining population in the country. With people flocking to the region and plenty of sun, the Virginia Beach/Norfolk metro represents a prime opportunity not only for enterprise and more tint to be installed but also for attractions, such as Virginia’s largest and most award-winning beaches.
Home to Virginia’s largest beachfront, Virginia Beach is a prime event destination. On top of its shoreline, the area is home to the Ocean Breeze Waterpark, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center and is a stone’s throw from Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The area also features some of the nation’s most important historical experiences. Breweries and nightlife are a big part of the experience, too.
It’s been a long time since the show was in the mid-Atlantic, and with
growth and proximity at top-of-mind, this resort city was a perfect fit.
The area is within a few hours drive from some of the nation’s busiest metros, including New York City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston and Richmond, Va., among others. For those outside of driving range or who prefer to fly, the Norfolk International Airport is 17 miles away and is an excellent transit option with direct flights from the nation’s premier airline hubs and even acting as a hub of its own for recently-launched Breeze Airways—an affordable-yet-comfortable airline that offers attendees direct flights from 13 accessible airports.
Richmond International Airport (100 miles away) and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (42 miles away) are also available.
See you by the seaside in September.
To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.
