In his evaluation to the AA correspondent, Şekib Avdagiç stated that congress tourism is one of the most effective promotional tools of Istanbul.
Noting that 67 congresses were held in the city in the first 8 months of this year, Avdagiç said that the accommodation, transportation, travel and food and beverage income obtained from these congresses, with approximately 30 thousand participants, reached 120 million dollars. Avdagiç stated that they expect the number of congress tourists to increase further by the end of the year, with the autumn months when congresses are more intense.
Emphasizing that congress tourism has become a strategic area that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the Istanbul economy every year, Avdagiç said, "Approximately 200 thousand congress tourists coming to Istanbul, which has hosted up to 500 congresses with the contributions of ICVB since 2022, brought foreign exchange income exceeding 800 million dollars to the Istanbul economy with a spending of up to 4 thousand dollars per person." shared his knowledge.
Avdagiç emphasized that congress revenues spread not only to hotels, but also to a wide part of the city, from restaurants to tradesmen, from guides to transportation companies.
Stating that this figure, which exceeds 800 million dollars in the last 5-year period, shows only direct expenditure, Avdagiç said, "As this expenditure circulates in the local economy, the total impact is undoubtedly much greater. Congress participants often extend their programs and visit the city. They come again for holidays with their families and recommend our city to their circle." he said.
"We aim to make Istanbul a global meeting point where international congresses are held"
Şekib Avdagiç stated that Istanbul has steadily increased its position on a global scale with its strong performance in international congress tourism in recent years.
Stating that they aim to make Istanbul not only a visited city, but also a global meeting point where the world's important international congresses are held, with the work they carry out as Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB), Avdagiç said:
"This success is not just about the increase in the number of congresses. Congress tourism is a strategic tourism area that provides high added value to Istanbul, supports scientific and professional knowledge sharing, strengthens international business connections and brings economic dynamism to different sectors of the city."
Avdagiç emphasized that congress visitors create high economic value compared to classical holiday tourism with their expenditures on accommodation, food and beverage, transportation, shopping, culture-art and urban experiences.
"We continue our candidacy and lobbying efforts to organize new congresses in Istanbul."
İTO and ICVB President Avdagiç stated that Istanbul's congress infrastructure also has the capacity to support growth.
Pointing out that there are 7 congress centers and 3 fair centers in the city that can host large international organizations, Avdagiç said, "One of them is the Istanbul Fair Center, which is within the body of İTO's subsidiary IDTM and whose capacity will be increased by 40 percent with new infrastructure works. It offers a capacity to host events of different scales in Istanbul, from meetings for 100 people to large organizations with 30 thousand or more participants." he said.
Avdagiç pointed out that another important dimension of ICVB's work is to bring the congresses of the future to Istanbul today and said:
"We not only support the realization of existing congresses, but also continue our candidacy and lobbying efforts to organize new congresses in Istanbul by establishing long-term relationships with the decision-makers of international unions. Among the congresses supported by ICVB, there are the world's leading international meetings in many different fields, from health sciences to engineering, from the energy sector to transportation."
"Our goal is to position Istanbul among the 10 most important congress destinations in the world"
Stating that the results of the studies are clearly visible in Istanbul's performance in recent years, Şekib Avdagiç said, "The increase in the number of international congresses from 58 in 2022 to 95 in 2025 is a concrete indicator of Istanbul's competitive power in the global congress market. The 18th place in the world we reached in 2025 is the strongest result of the last 10 years." he said.
Avdagiç stated that their goal is to make this momentum permanent and position Istanbul among the 10 most important congress destinations in the world.
Touching on the contribution of artificial intelligence to the tourism sector, Avdagiç said:
"We think that artificial intelligence is a great opportunity for Turkish tourism. As ICVB, we have started working on an innovative artificial intelligence project that will support digital transformation in our sector. We are developing the artificial intelligence-based 'Virtual Congress Support Expert' application. This application will enable congress organizers to access the information and data they need quickly and easily. We aim to complete the project in 2027. As far as we know, similar applications focusing on congress tourism are only found in Singapore and Saudi Arabia today. With this project, we make Istanbul one of the leading destinations in the use of technology in congress tourism We aim to make it one."
