GlobeMeets Tourism Summit Started in Istanbul: 100 Million Euro Business Volume Target

The organization, which focuses on the direct business-oriented networking model for the tourism sector, has started.

The Opening Ceremony was attended by Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan, İTO President Şekib Avdagiç, TÜRSAB Vice President Hasan Eker, TTYD President Oya Narin, IRO President Selçuk Eracun, VFS Global Turkey-Azerbaijan Regional Director Sertan Aslantürk, Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau Turkey Representation Turkey Director Gunel Mammadova, Tersane Istanbul General Manager Çetin Pehlivan and 20 It was held with the participation of the country's Consul General, Ambassadors and NGO Presidents.

GlobeMeets business volume target exceeding 100 million Euros for 2027

This year, a total of more than 3,000 tourism professionals met in Istanbul at GlobeMeets, including more than 1,000 buyer travel agencies from more than 50 countries, 200 participating companies, official tourism offices of 11 countries and nearly 20 global airline companies. It is anticipated that during the two-day meeting, more than 25 thousand B2B meetings will take place, with more than 11 thousand planned B2B appointments and more than 15 thousand natural networking contacts, and will create a huge commercial business volume exceeding 100 million Euros.

The Route of the 2027 Tourism Season has Begun to be Drawn

It was stated that the signatures to be signed and the new B2B connections to be established within the scope of the event will directly shape the 2027 tourism vision and form the basis of products, destinations and travel routes in international markets. The organization aims to position Istanbul not only as an important tourism destination, but also as one of the centers of international tourism trade and new collaborations.

Strong Messages from the Peak of Tourism

The opening ceremony brought together the umbrella organizations of the tourism industry, ambassadors, consuls from 20 countries, representatives of tourism agencies from 11 countries, global airline companies, travel agencies and DMCs.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül stated that Istanbul is a strong international trade and connection center as well as tourism and culture. He pointed out that the city's access to air transportation is of strategic importance not only for Türkiye but also for the opening of neighboring countries to world markets.

T.R. Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Nadir Alpaslan, drew attention to Turkey's position in the global tourism market and emphasized the contribution of B2B platforms, which bring together international buyers and sellers, to the sustainable growth of the sector and its future targets. Alpaslan stated that Turkey has become one of the four leading tourism countries in the world with approximately 64 million visitors and 65 billion dollars of tourism income. Alpaslan stated that public and private sector cooperation plays a decisive role in our country's growth in the global tourism market; He said that strong transportation infrastructure, diversified tourism products and international promotion activities carried out in approximately 200 countries increased Turkey's competitiveness. Emphasizing that it is also important for Azerbaijan to take part as a partner country in GlobeMeets 2026, Alpaslan stated that the strong ties between Türkiye and Azerbaijan can be carried forward with new projects and commercial cooperation in the field of tourism.

Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Şekib Avdagiç, emphasized that Istanbul has become not only an important destination in global tourism, but also the center of trade and cooperation. Istanbul Chamber of Commerce President Şekib Avdagiç said that GlobeMeets creates an important business development platform for international tourism trade by bringing together professionals from more than 50 countries in Istanbul. Touching on Istanbul's growth in the international congress and event market, Avdagiç stated that the city rose to 13th place in Europe and 18th place in the world with 2025 data. He stated that Istanbul continues to be one of the important centers of the global tourism economy with its strong transportation network, accommodation capacity and trade infrastructure.

TÜRSAB Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors Hasan Eker pointed out the importance of travel agencies establishing stronger connections with international markets. Emphasizing that bringing professionals together in B2B organizations is more important than the number of participants, Hasan Eker pointed out that GlobeMeets' structure, which matches the right participant with the right visitor, strengthens its capacity to produce commercial results. Eker emphasized that equal competition conditions should be created for domestic and foreign companies in the regulations regarding digital foreign platforms.

Hüseyin Kurt, co-founder of GlobeMeets, opened the ceremony and said, “We see the future vision of GlobeMeets exactly here. Using technology but not removing people from its center; To be a powerful international B2B networking platform that brings the world together in Istanbul and transforms the connections established into real collaborations. This is exactly what we mean when we say “Meeting Point Beyond Borders”. Kurt said that a single meeting in two days could be the beginning of the most important cooperation of the coming years and stated that they are working to support Turkey's tourism power.

Strategic Partnership Beyond Borders: Azerbaijan Country Partner

One of the most striking elements of this year's organization was Azerbaijan's Country Partnership, which fully reflected the motto of "Meeting Point Beyond Borders" on the field. Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau Istanbul Director Gunel Mammadova also expressed their satisfaction with Azerbaijan becoming GlobeMeets 2026 Country Partner. Mammadova emphasized that in line with the vision of "Meeting Point Beyond Borders", they will take the strong brotherly ties and tourism potential between the two countries to the top with new B2B collaborations.

Pointing out that Shusha, which was declared the "Tourism Capital" of Azerbaijan in 2026, is a developing destination with new tourism investments and experiences, Mammadova stated that Shusha, which was declared the "Tourism Capital", has transformed into a tourism destination living with gastronomy, culture and international events while preserving its historical and cultural heritage.