Congress tourism in Istanbul booming again

ISTANBUL

Istanbul, Türkiye’s financial and commercial capital, is experiencing a revival in congress tourism this year, with dozens of international events planned for 2023.

Some 46,000 people are expected to attend the events in the megacity in the remainder of the year, said Şekib Avdagiç, the president of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), noting that the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have totally waned.

At least 36 international conventions will take place in Istanbul, and the attendees will spend around 140 million euros, Avdagiç said, adding those events, supported by the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB), will host between 300 to 25,000 people.

The largest of those conventions will be the IEEE PES Generation, Transmission and Distribution Conference and Expo, which will take place between May 20 and May 23, Avdagiç said.

This will be the industry’s most comprehensive and immersive event in the field of renewable energy and storage, environment, de-carbonization, power generation as well as transmission and distribution, according to the organizers.

When the first tourism data for 2022 started to come out, they signaled that 2023 would be a good year for congress tourism, Avdagiç said.

Tourism is one of the driving forces for the local economy, generating revenue and supporting production, Avdagiç said, noting that nearly 3.5 million foreigners visited the megacity in the first three months of 2023.

This marked a 20 percent increase from the same period of last year.
Istanbul targets to attract 19 million tourists and to generate $18 billion in tourism revenues, according to Avdagiç.