Istanbul has been placed on 44th in the world’s 424 congress cities which host the world’s  biggest congresses in 2019, and 27th of the line in Europe. According to the explanation of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC), the annual report which is published  in every year by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), has been  declared.

ICOC President Şekib Avdagiç says that Istanbul has succeed to improve its placement  during  3 successive years in the line of congress citities and meeting industry until the outbreak.

Avdagiç, the President of the Istanbul Convention&Visitors Bureau, expressed that “ICCA pays attention to the meetings of important international associations and unities. According to this, the  number  of worldwide congress which has been organised in Istanbul in 2019, has increased by 75 percent when it has been compared with previous year. Istanbul’s success  in the  line of international congress and meeting by its proceeding 40 lines more has been declared.”

Avdagiç says that most of big congresses have been prevented up to now in 2020 because of the outbreak, and that “the more than 6 international congress and meetings  with  a thousand participants at least which will be organised on this year in Istanbul climbing  to top during  3 successive years in the line of congress citities, has been postponed compulsorily with the reason of Covid-19. We will start with minor events which are recognised with their social isolations at the first stage. After Covid-19, in new normalisation we are working on the new calender which begins from 2021 and compensate the congress and meetings which have been postponed up to now.”

Avdagiç also talked about their target which is to be placed on first 20 in the line of congress cities for Istanbul, and added that “Istanbul is the one of world’s leader congress, meeting and event destinations. When all problems have finished, we believe by our hearts in the potential of Istanbul and predict that our citry will resume on its improvements.”

WE OPEN A NEW NOTEBOOK IN THE MEETING INDUSTRY

Avdagiç says that the biggest part of the events in Istanbul, Turkey  and world is held as online, and that “ We open a new notebook, not a new page in the meeting industry with the tourism sector. Now, the shape and features of this notebook are different from the previous one. It is certain that we will enter a normalisation period in which the digitalism is in the foreground. On the contrary this, our wants and needs for face to face interation will not change. The tempo which the human nature has been used for a thousand years will keep in the new normalisation as well.”

Avdagiç added that the biggest advantage of Istanbul and Turkey on this period which is the service capacity and the health precautions we have taken as a country, and that “We believe to improve together to make  Istanbul and Turkey to be  most contemporary and confident destionations in the tourism and congress, meeting and event industries in short, medium and long terms with drawing a correct map. Tourism and meting industries are affected directly and firstly by the pandemic period. The destionations in the world have imposed restrictions in a hundred percent.  The total of the congresses, meetings and events which are held as both national and international in the world have been postponed or canceled. The task which has to ben managed by us, our shareholders and all representatives of the sector is to direct this period properly with correct precautions and make our city and country stand up again in the tourism and meeting industries in a short term.”

Paris, Lisbon and Berlin have been placed in first 3 of ICCA’s congress and meeting line hosting the world’s most international events. In the world, USA, Germany and France have been placed in first 3 of the line. Europe has hosted 7 thousand 33 meetings while 13 thousand 254 worlwide meetings have been held in 2019. According to the report, 41 congresses and meetings have been held in Istanbul last decade. The year of 2015 with 159 meetings has become the year of congress and meetings.