Ankara tourism sector seeks lasting gains from NATO summit

ANKARA

The summit served as an important turning point for the capital city’s international visibility and tourism economy, the association head said. The city successfully completed one of the world’s most important organizations utilizing its qualified hotels, congress centers, diplomatic institutions, transport infrastructure and trained human resources, Bülbüloğlu said.

“Ankara did not just host world leaders with the NATO summit; it showed the world its power as a city of diplomacy, congresses and international organizations. We must now turn this global attention into a permanent tourism movement,” Bülbüloğlu said.

This summit experience provides a strong international reference, strengthening Ankara’s hand for future international congresses, business meetings and diplomatic gatherings, he said. The capital received extensive coverage on international television channels, news websites, search engines and social media platforms throughout the summit, requiring an immediate strategy to convert this visibility into actual visitors, Bülbüloğlu said.

Authorities should regularly measure online interest directed toward the capital, Bülbüloğlu said, proposing the establishment of an “Ankara Tourism Digital Dashboard.” Officials could track search trends, flight ticket demands, hotel searches, social media access and reservation conversions under this digital panel, he said.

Targeted multilingual promotional campaigns should reach users tracking summit-related content and searching for Ankara, Bülbüloğlu said.

“We must explain the city’s history, culture, gastronomy, museums, health infrastructure and weekend routes to people seeing, hearing and researching Ankara,” Bülbüloğlu said. “We must present all the values of Ankara, from Anıtkabir to Gordion, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations to Beypazarı, to international visitors.”

The strategy must integrate newly launched direct flights connecting Ankara to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, the Russian city of St. Petersburg and the Romanian capital of Bucharest with the visibility generated by the summit, evaluating them within the same tourism framework, Bülbüloğlu said. Opening a new flight route is only a beginning, the association head said.

“Ensuring the route becomes permanent and bringing regular visitors to Ankara from the target market requires a strong promotional strategy,” Bülbüloğlu said, proposing distinct content preparation for each market.

Historical and cultural ties should take precedence in Sarajevo, while weekend tourism, shopping and gastronomy can be promoted in Bucharest, he said. Culture, health and thermal tourism should be prioritized for St. Petersburg, Bülbüloğlu said.