Istanbul Making a Difference By Gorazd Čad - May 18, 2015 Exclusive interviw with Özgül Özkan Yavuz, General Manager, Istanbul Convention Bureau TALKING BUSINESS Q: What is purpose behind the campaign “A tale of two cities”? It is natural for meeting planners to have the idea that İstanbul is only a heritage destination and that they may not have used as the base for a meeting or event before. Istanbul is known as a popular culture and leisure destination though not so well known as a flourishing and successful MICE destination – and this is where we aim to break down misconceptions with our a dynamic marketing campaign ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. The concept behind the campaign is to create awareness of Istanbul as a flourishing and successful MICE destination Istanbul highlighting both its charm and capacity – by breaking down misconceptions with the ‘two cities’ slogan to demonstrate the breadth and variety of Istanbul as a destination, – old and new – highlighting the city’s hightech modern Shares
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6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
infrastructure juxtaposed against its monumental history to metaphorically reflect a city ofcontrasts.
We have created this campaign to strengthen city’s position in our already existing markets
and to reach out new regions around the world, to project a clearer message about our city
and to highlight and personify Istanbul’s contrasting styles in a huge variety of venues. It
offers a glimpse into the huge variety of venues and accommodation on offer for any size of
meeting and incentive, from the historical and stately to the cosmopolitan and cutting edge
including 7 convention centres, 3 exhibition centres, 49 universities and many unusual
venues to name just a few.
With the beginning of our new global campaign, we have also extended our visual brand
identity across various social media platforms through uptodate content, presence and
interaction, with presence now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube.
Q: Are you happy with the state of meetings industry in Istanbul?As the being in the World’s Top 10 Congress destination, simply the answer is yes but to
clarify: As Istanbul CVB, we have produced our first compherensive research and statistics
of both national and international state of congress and meeting industry in İstanbul. We
have concluded a detailed report including not only international congresses but also
national tradeshows, fairs meetings and congresses in general. This first 360 degrees report
we estimated the income of the congress industry to İstanbul and the report shows the
significant impact of MICE Industry in our city. We can easily say that meeting industry has
vital role in İstanbul’s economy. Thus the city’s international meeting industry representing
a top 10 location for conferences in the world, is a vital player both for the Istanbul and the
Turkish economy which makes the current state of meeting industry a success story for our
city. On the other hand, besides international congresses İstanbul is hosting approximately
150 national congresses per year and over 200 tradeshows which also have a huge impact
on the city’s economy.
In addition, we are striving to make Istanbul the first goto destination in international
meeting industry and continue to work towards the city increasing its market share of the
international MICE scene.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
Q: How is the industry changing in order to accommodate this?The industry is changing continously the reason as we and all industry partners needs to
respond the constantly changing habits or needs. If we look at the ‘sustainbility’, the
industry has been improved and still improving regarding on the needs and expectations.
As the industry we are trying to increase not only the quantity but also investment for
environment. For instance, Bureau Veritas and the Turkish Hotels and Investors Association
(TUROB) came together to give a green light to The Hotel Greening Project in order to move
the environmental agenda forward with İstanbul’s hotels by encouraging them to
implement environmentally friendly strategies. The important point here that I would like to
highlight is that the pilot project came to life during the 5th World Water Forum’s ‘Green
Forum Initiative’ to raise awareness on hotel greening techniques and also to encourage
participating hotels to take the first step toward greener accommodation. İstanbul
Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) is also one of the major authority giving great importance to
a sustainable environment. As consciousness for the environment grows day by day,
environmentally managed hotels are receiving more and more interest. Tourism is one of
the most consuming service sectors. So, with the motto “Conservation & Use”, the
hospitality sector should be the leader of sustainability in tourism and environment.
Q: What’s the importance of meetings industry trade shows like IMEX?Indeed, important! To develop strong social relationships, in spite of all developments in
technology and usage of it, social relationship will always remain crucial and we believe in
the power of face to face meetings. A big gathering not only with our potential decision
makers/hosted buyers but also with the industry to learn and share so for both business and
educational perspective is important.Furthermore, tradeshows are significant in order to
attract association congresses from different regions and to showcase our destination with
more wide aspects direct to associations and meeting planners. As İstanbul CVB, we are
aware of the importance of the trade shows at both national and regional levels to be able to
enhance İstanbul’s competitive level in the international market.
Q: What future do you wants to see for Istanbul meetings industry?Congress and meeting sector become powerfull since 1990s in Turkey and Istanbul. Now
having Istanbul in the 8th place in the world is an important success but we still needs to
take Istanbul to up level. Keeping up with the new trends will revive our business. I
personally think that networking and business partnerships are very important. Istanbul
CVB and other promotion corporations work is not enough on their own. That’s why all of
the players on this sector must come into the front at the international arena. Companies
must participate to the education programs more and even organize these programs
themselves. We are targeting to be a Top 3 Congress destination in the world.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine