The Austrian village of Reifnitz on the Wörthersee, part of the municipality of Maria Wörth, has hosted the annual gathering of Volkswagen GTI fans since 1982. The event introduces new models and concepts from the past.
The event has not been held since 2019 due to the pandemic, and now the municipality of Maria Wörth has decided to cancel it due to local concerns about sustainability. In a statement issued in February, the city government said the significant increase in the activity in recent years had contributed to a lower acceptance of the small village by locals. The municipality also cited the impact of climate change as one of the reasons for canceling the event.
The GTI conference will return, but will be held in the German city of Wolfsburg, home to the Volkswagen Group headquarters and where the current Golf GTI is built. Volkswagen said last week that the new GTI Congress will be held for the first time in Wolfsburg in 2024.
“Our GTI fans are very important to Volkswagen, which is why communicating with them is very important to us,” Imelda Labbé, head of sales, marketing and aftersales for the Volkswagen brand, said in a statement. explain. “For this reason, after the unfortunate cancellation of the GTI conference at Lake Wörthersee, we quickly decided to offer the GTI fan community a new event venue.”
In addition to new events and some surprises, the new conference will continue with vehicle presentations, stage performances and GTI club events, Volkswagen said. The automaker also said Wolfsburg has enough space and infrastructure to support a large conference like that traditionally held in Reifnitz.