Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) hosted a panel titled “Developing Lodging and Congress Tourism in Turkey” with the participation of Turkish tourism industry’s prominent names.

ICOC Assembly President Muharrem Keçeli made the opening of the panel by welcoming tourism professionals and speakers. Mr. Keçeli cited that in the world about US$400 billion income is collected just from congress tourism. Mr. Keçeli said that Turkey only receives about 4-5 billion dollars from this tourism segment. This is a very percentage for Turkey, Mr. Keçeli added.

Cumhur Güven Taşbaşı; Director General of Promotion at Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister was the first speaker of the panel after the opening speech of Mr. Keçeli. Mr. Taşbaşı summarized what is congress tourism and its importance for the industry. Stating that congress tourism can be implemented all seasons, should be developed in Turkey. Taşbaşı said that by constructing a convention center, you can’t develop the industry. First the convention center should be easily accessible by international delegates.

57% of world congress tourism is taking place in Europe. Top 3 cities of the industry are Vienna, Berlin, and Singapore. Istanbul is ranked 19th. Raising Istanbul in the Top 10 Convention cities of the world is our priority.

Taşbaşı also revealed that Turkey soon will announce a code of laws for the congress and convention tourism. The draft will soon be discussed at the parliament.

Mr. Muharrem Keceli, ICOC Assembly President, at the opening speech Mr. Muharrem Keceli, ICOC Assembly President, at the opening speech

Panel organized at ICOC Building Panel organized at ICOC Building

From left: Mr. Basaran Ulusoy, Mrs. Handan Boyce, Mr. Timur Bayindir From left: Mr. Basaran Ulusoy, Mrs. Handan Boyce, Mr. Timur Bayindir

Mr. Cumhur Guven Tasbasi, Director of Promotion Mr. Cumhur Guven Tasbasi, Director of Promotion

Mr. Basaran Ulusoy, President of TURSAB Mr. Basaran Ulusoy, President of TURSAB

Ass. Prof Ahmet Emre Bilgili, Director of Istanbul Culture and Tourism Ass. Prof Ahmet Emre Bilgili, Director of Istanbul Culture and Tourism

Mrs. Handan Boyce; General Manager of Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB)Mrs. Handan Boyce; General Manager of Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB)

Second speaker of the panel was Mr. Başaran Ulusoy; President of Association of Turkish Travel Agencies. Mr. Ulusoy also commented about the abundant quantity of convention centers. Mr. Ulusoy said that Kuşadası Convention Center that will open near future will be the largest convention center of Europe. Proximity to Ephesus, the ancient city in Anatolia, and only 40 minutes from Aegean city of Izmir, Kuşadası will be an important meetings destination.

Mr. Timur Bayındır; President Touristic Hotels & Investors Association said that transportation and lodging facilities are crucial for congresses and conventions. However those two are not enough. The convention area should be in a living area so that delegates can go out after working hours and go shopping, watch an opera or ballet like in Vienna. When we look with this angle, the luckiest city in Turkey is Istanbul.

Ass. Prof. Ahmet Emre Bilgili; Director of Istanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate said about the difficulties to won a convention to the city. You need to have a well-structured organization to promote and market the city. Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) is a great example to that. You need to have an organization like ICVB and also you have to prepare the infrastructure. Turkey Convention Center should be established and should increase the synergy between ICVB and other convention bureaus. Financial support is also very important for CVBs, said Mr. Bilgili.

Last speaker of the conference was Mrs. Handan Boyce; General Manager of ICVB. Mrs. Boyce with her expertise in the industry presented what is a Convention and Visitors Bureau, what is the importance of forming a CVB, and what are the duties. Mrs. Boyce mentioned the importance of financial support to CVBs and said that the origin of CVBs is started in USA. In the USA, 87% of funding is done by public sector. 52% of private funding is received from membership fees.

Boyce said, “According to an ICCA study in 2007, 61% of Convention Bureaus are a department within a local, regional or national Tourist Board. 50,82% of European city bureaus and 57,29% of other countries’ bureaus financing comes from public funding. Contribution of membership fees to funding of bureaus in Europe is 26,77%. They have an average of 260 members.

CVBs allocate almost half of its funding (43%) to sales and marketing activities. Employment expenses and administrative expenses hold 40% and 17% respectively.

Boyce also presented ICVB to the attendees. ICVB, which is formed by TUGEV as a non-profit organization in 1997, was listed as the 49th city at the world convention cities list. With the professional work of ICVB and with contribution of public and private entities, Istanbul moved up to the 19th position by 2007.

Boyce said that ICVB attends many international workshops and congresses organized by world’s leading organizations such as ICCA, ECM, PCMA, MPI, and DMAI. They learn a lot from world’s other CVBs thanks to the communication and networking of those events. Boyce said that you can get important information from other CVBs that brought congresses to their city. As the congresses organized one time in a specific city you can receive important information from other CVBs such as how long does it take to prepare for a specific convention. Consequently you can prepare your studies for the next host city election according to the information you got.