Istanbul Bulletin

Turkey was the partner country at the 44th edition of ITB Berlin which was held 10 -14 March 2010 in Berlin, Germany.

11,127 companies from 187 countries (2009: 11,098) exhibited the international travel industry’s entire range of products and services. 110,953 trade visitors from 180 countries attended the show, equalling last year’s figures.

As one of the largest exhibitors, Turkey's display in Hall 3.2 ranged from the traditional to the modern. Occupying some 3,000 square metres, Turkey presented the cultural wealth, the wide range of tourism attractions, the diversity of the vacation regions and the culinary delights of this popular holiday destination. One of this year's highlights is provided by Istanbul, and visitors to the Exhibition Grounds experienced something of the diversity and dynamism of the current European Capital of Culture. Visitors were able to see how the culture and art of Istanbul provide a spiritual and artistic bridge between the Orient and the Occident. Another fascinating aspect was a reproduction of the highly ornate gateway of the Divrigi Ulucami mosque. The oldest Islamic building in Anatolia, it was constructed in 1229 in the province of Sivas and has been declared part of the world cultural heritage by UNESCO. Visitors admired another world cultural heritage site in Hall 10.2, with the traditional architecture of the Safranbolu houses.

See, smell, taste is the slogan in the world's oldest shopping centre, "Kapalicarsi". In the six typical shops visitors experienced, with all their senses, all the vitality of a bazaar. And there was even more to experience, with the culinary specialities from all the regions of Turkey, which were offered by the partner country in the SAHAN Restaurant adjoining Hall 3.2 and in two Turkish snack bars located between Halls 3.2 and 4.2.

On the days when the public are admitted audiences thrilled to the shows on the Turkey stand and on the large stage in Hall 4.1, where live Turkish music and the rhythms of the country’s folk traditions created an authentic atmosphere.

“Germany represents our foremost source market. More than 4.4 million tourists travel to Turkey from Germany. ITB Berlin is the world’s leading travel trade show and also the largest. For us, to be the partner country of ITB Berlin is something special. Turkey has created a new partner country concept. We set up a programme of cultural events with numerous activities that took place outside the grounds. These included a show with an amateur choir from Antalya with singers who were rabbis, priests, nuns and Muslims. Our minister also invited a Kurdish singer to take part. We wanted to demonstrate our country’s diversity, and from my point of view that was the highlight of our presentation. Turkey in its role as partner country attracted a great deal of attention among visitors. All our co-exhibitors were highly satisfied. If the exhibitors are happy then I think together we have achieved something remarkably good,“ said Hüseyin Cosan, Cultural Attaché of the Republic of Turkey in Berlin.

Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau participated ITB-Berlin with the participation of Vice president Mr. Yılmaz Tecmen, General Manager Mrs. Handan Boyce and Sales & Marketing Director Mrs. Elif Balcı Fisunoglu. Mrs. Boyce said, “ITB Berlin was very successful not only for exhibitors but also in terms of reassuring the interest to Turkey and the growth in Turkish tourism for 2010. Starting from the opening ceremony to the last day of the show Turkey was on the spotlights all around Berlin and exhibited a great exposure of Turkey within the Partner Country concept. As ICVB, we took our place to present Istanbul to this immense market and were very happy to be a part of such a great event".

Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Günay, Ambassador of Turkey in Berlin Ahmet Acet and the Consul General of Turkey in Berlin Mustafa Pulat visited ICVB stand at ITB.

Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency joined in Budapest Tourism Fair which is realized on 4 -7 March 2010, 33rd time this year with 800 participants from 40 countries on a total ground of 16.000 meter squares.

Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency took part in national stand of Turkey to promote Istanbul 2010 ECOC and events to visitors, tourism professionals and press members. During the fair, the Agency representatives held interviews with representatives from the Hungarian media and ATV Europe.

Touristic Hotels & Investors Association (TUROB) organized its 20th General Assembly on February 26, 2010 at Dedeman Istanbul Hotel.
Timur Bayindir was re-elected by a wide margin as the president of TUROB. Timur Bayindir will be the president for the fourth time.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler, IH&RA Chairman Ghassan Aidi, TURSAB President Basaran Ulusoy, TUREB President Serif Yenen, TUROB members and industry representatives attended the TUROB General Assembly.

Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry announced that number of tourist arrivals to Turkey rose 7.7% year-on-year in January compared to the 12.4% increase in the previous month.

Visitor arrivals increased to 809,974 in January from 751,817 last year, but came lesser than the 1.23 million arrivals reported in the preceding month.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK, together with Turkish Wine Platform, Wines of Turkey, hosted a group of world-renowned British TV wine critics, broadcasters and “Masters of Wine” (MW) in Turkey for the first time between 28 February – 5 March 2010. Visiting Turkey were world-renowned wine expert and broadcaster Oz Clarke; Charles Metcalfe, broadcaster and founder and co-chairman of the globally prestigious International Wine Challenge; Tim Atkin MW, wine critic for The Times and owner of London-based wine school; Caroline Gilby MW, wine writer and critic specialising in Eastern Europe; wine educator and consultant Susan Hulme MW; wine critic and author Stephen Brook; and consultant and sommelier David Furer.

Although guests commenced the trip knowing little of Turkish wines, an average score of ‘good’ was awarded by the critics at the blind tasting of 49 Turkish wines held on the first day; whilst 9 Turkish wines received a score of ‘excellent’, both results surpassing critics expectations and placing Turkish wines firmly on the global stage. The trip continued with visits to vineyards and tastings held at wineries in Thrace near Istanbul and Cappadocia, with the tastings focussing on indigenous Turkish grape varieties.

The wine critics were particularly delighted at the quality and variety of Turkey’s indigenous grapes including (from whites) Emir and Narince, (and from reds) Okuzgozu, Bogazkere and Kalecik Karasi. Tim Atkin MW noted Kalecik Karasi as his favourite grape for being a “soft, approachable, easy drinking grape, with international appeal”, whilst Charles Metcalfe chose Narince and Emir in whites and Okuzgozu in red for “having personality and individuality”. Overall the critics returned to the UK with far more positive impressions than expected and with the advice to concentrate on the native grapes in the export market for providing new flavours and styles.

Unknown to much of the world, Turkey has a long history of wine making – with archaeological evidence pointing to wine making having originated in the lands of Anatolia over 7000 years ago. Turkey also has the world’s fourth largest grape-growing area (565,000 ha) after Spain, Italy and France and is fifth in terms of grape production.

With the aim of promoting Turkish culture and tourism to new audiences, this trip marks a milestone by showcasing its rich and unique food and drink culture, varied geography and rapidly developing wine industry; thus breaking stereotypes and promoting the multi-faceted riches of the country. Expressing delight at the first such trip to promote Turkish Wines in the UK, Irfan Onal, Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK said: “We’re honoured to have hosted such high-profile wine critics in Turkey together with Wines of Turkey as part of our focus on highlighting the country’s rich and varied cultural offerings alongside our more general tourism promotions. Our aim is to continue increasing awareness of how much the country has to offer visitors in addition to beach holidays – from wine and cuisine to archaeology, art, film and music; all which reflect its huge cultural heritage of more than 10,000 years.”

The wine companies showcased throughout the trip were Wines of Turkey members Büyülübağ, Doluca, Kavaklıdere, Kayra and Vinkara; as well as Bakus, Idol, Kocabağ, Likya, Pamukkale, Paşaeli, Prodom, Selendi, Sevilen, Turasan and Umurbey.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he is hopeful that visa requirements between Turkey and Qatar would be lifted soon.

"We want to commence a new era in our relations with Qatar like we did earlier in our relations with Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Turkey's gates are wide open for Qatari investors, tourists and businessmen," said Turkish PM.

Mr. Erdogan said at the Turkey-Qatar Business Forum in Doha's Four Seasons Hotel that Turkey is among the countries that were least-affected from the global financial crisis.

French hotel chain Accor, which operates 4 200 hotels in 90 countries, opened two hotels in Turkey's south-eastern city of Gaziantep.

On March 6, 2010, Accor inaugurated its "Novotel" and "Ibis" hotels and the number of Accor hotels in Turkey reached to six. The Novotel Gaziantep and Ibis Gaziantep cost 21 million euros. The four-star Novotel features 92 rooms while the three-star Ibis has 177 rooms.

Accor Turkey General Manager Murat Kadaifçioğlu said the hotels will cater primarily to businessmen visiting the city. "We're currently focusing on developing our city hotel brand names, Ibis and Novotel, in cities in Turkey that have relatively better economic conditions. We believe these two hotels in Gaziantep will satisfy an important need for the city," he said.

Accor Turkey has selected 23 cities for future investment and plan to build 1 549 Novotel and 2 282 Ibis rooms, which correspond to roughly 10 Novotel and 17 Ibis hotels.

"The number of tourists visiting the area has increased fivefold, thanks to the interest of Syrian and Jordanian people and the decision to lift visa requirements for several countries," Salih Efiloglu, the director of the culture and tourism office in Gaziantep, said. He added that the city has increased its number of tourist accommodations from 3,000 to 6,000.

"Four more international hotel companies are waiting to invest in Gaziantep; I think they will take action in the fall," Efiloglu added.