ICCA Ranking
Istanbul thinking big
on the Bosphorus
R
anking ninth in the
world in 2014 with
130 congresses,
Istanbul has now held an
ICCA top 10 city ranking
since 2010.
Major infrastructure
projects include a third
airport, due to open in 2018
and designed to cater for
150m passengers, making
Istanbul the largest airline
hub in the world, and a new
road tunnel to connect Asia
and Europe.
A third bridge along
the Bosphorus is under
construction.
The city is home to
seven convention centres,
and is capable of hosting
30,000 delegates. There
are four independent
meeting clusters in the city’s
Congress Valley, the Golden
Horn, the Airport Area and
the Asian side.
Commenting on the
new No.9 ranking, Istanbul
Convention and Visitors
Bureau (ICVB) chairman
Ibrahim Caglar says:
“Istanbul offers accessibility,
a large number of highquality meeting and
congress centres, a high-
standard and good variety
of accommodation, as
well as historical, cultural
and natural attractions and
stellar-quality customer
services.
“Istanbul is also a hub
for both education and
knowledge and R&D in the
region with its 49 universities.”
Caglar continues: “The
number of congresses in
Istanbul has risen by 280%
during the past 10 years
and we expect this increase
to continue. Our goal for
2023 is for Istanbul to rank
in the top five convention
destinations in the world
and the top three in
Europe.”
Ozgul Ozkan Yavuz,
general manager of the
ICVB, adds: "Istanbul is
the only city in the world
straddling two continents,
as a physical and
metaphorical coming
together of East and West, ‘A
Tale of Two Cities’.
“Istanbul is a connecting
hub with two billion people
living within six hours’ flying
time, making it an obvious
choice for planners seeking
a truly global setting.”
Images above,
from top: Istanbul
Congress Centre
and The Halic
Centre
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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