Turkey has a split personality. As a Eurasian country, it sits with 97 per cent of its area in Asia and the rest in Europe. It is a democratic, Muslim country with strong trading with the Middle East and former USSR states.
However, it has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in NATO and the G-20 and is in talks to become an European Union member.
Turkey’s economy expanded at a rate of 11 per cent in the first quarter of the year and investment in this emerging country is favourable with a market-friendly government that has increased in popularity since it came into power in 2002. This compares to a debt-ridden Euro zone and the politically-instable Middle East.
And market confidence is reflected in its meetings industry. For the latest International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) country rankings, Turkey was 20th with 160 qualifying meetings, five places above its 2009 place.
The shining star is Istanbul, which shot up 10 places in the city rankings to 7th thanks, for the most, to increased destination marketing and expanded facilities says the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The city has seven convention centres with 70,000 bedrooms. Hilton has plans for 11 new hotels in Turkey in 2011 and there are 42 other hotels set to be finished within two years in Istanbul. “Meetings of up to 30,000 easily can be held here,” said Deputy Director at destination management company (DMC) VIP DMC, Melis Hanci.
A recent convention development is the Istanbul Congress Center, which has a 3,000-delegate capacity and opened in 2009 with the World Bank IMF Summit.
The attraction for many in hosting an event in Turkey is its historic past and not its new infrastructure.
“Many historical monuments have been transformed into meeting facilities.
A gala dinner for 2,000 delegates can be held in the world’s oldest bazaar with authentic Ottoman cuisine”, said the Sales and Marketing Manager for DMC ODS Turkey, Gaye Ertan.
Istanbul CVB has ambitious plans to get into the top five ICCA rankings in the next five years. “Istanbul has become a rising destination for association meetings, but it also attracts incentives too,” said its GM, Elif Balci Fisunoglu. “We are bidding for the 2014 AIDS Conference for 23,000 visitors.”
Recent big ticket events the country has hosted include the NATO Ministers Conference and World Water Forum with 25,000 delegates. “In recent years Turkey has hosted several high-profile international meetings and we are starting to see that the positive feedback from organisers has attracted us new business,” said Marketing Manager for professional conference organiser Scala Mice, Tulay Korkmaz.
Hanci said around 80 per cent of congresses in Turkey are hosted in Istanbul, but the Ministry and Culture and Tourism are keen on developing conference tourism in Mersin, Izmir, Konya and Bursa. Ankara, the capital, is already a popular choice.
“Turkey has a strategic location for multinationals. Delegates coming from both east and west can meet in the middle,” added Hanci. ICCA has chosen Antalya for its 2014 congress for 2,000 delegates. The coastal town beat Houston, Texas and Monterrey to host the 53rd congress. The Director for the Antalya Convention Bureau, A. Sinan Inan, said the area has hosted some 40 international congress and incentive groups in 2010: “We offer organisers all-inclusive packages, which are particularly attractive to Russians.”
Meeting Professionals International has also seen its potential by forming a new Turkish club, which has 31 members with plans to increase this to 75 by end of June 2012. “All its members in Turkey believe in the need and benefit of forming a club,” said President, Handan Boyce.
As Turkey’s meetings industry ups its conference credentials it could once again be the centre of the world.
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