City focus
side by side. Their vast halls – the
ICEC’s largest auditorium can host 1,900
and offers 7,000sqm of exhibition space,
while the ICC, opened during the World
Bank – IMF Summit in 2009, has
15,000sqm of exhibition space and a
3,555-pax auditorium and 80 meeting
rooms – are complemented with hotels
close by, including a large Hilton
Bosphorus, Swissotel The Bosphorus
(566 guest rooms and suites and a touch
of Japanese design and capacity to host
up to 1,200 people for events), Grand
Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and
InterContinental, to name a few.
If you like your congress centres on
the waterfront, then the Halic Centre is
open for business with views over the
Golden Horn. The 102,000sqm centre
also has 16,000sqm of outdoor area and
can accommodate up to 3,000 delegates
in its auditoriums.
If delegates march on their stomachs,
then Istanbul’s rich cuisine is a huge pull,
with the food offer ranging from tasty
If the earth
were a single state,
Istanbul would
be its capital” –
Napoleon Bonaparte
street food to fine Ottoman style dining,
with plenty in between and good value to
be found. Recommended highly is the
modern take on Turkish cuisine offered
at Portaxe restaurant (also an event
venue and situated in a bustling and
trendy area right by the Bosphorus
Bridge), while a Sira Night at the
Ramazan Bingöl Restaurant offers a
chance to experience Eastern Turkish
traditional fare and music.
The Golden Horn and The Bosphorus
also provide planners with an option for
both seeing the city from the water and
taking their delegates to dine on board
one of the many boats available for group
hire.
It really would be a crime not to
extend in this famous city - such is the
wealth of heritage and architectural and
cultural treats on show. Sultanahmet
Square is a good starting point,
containing many of the wonders in close
proximity, including the Hagia Sophia
Museum and Topkapi Palace. Our group
climbed both the Galata and Maiden’s
Towers, both of which offer spectacular
views of this city that sits astride both
Europe and Asia.
The Grand Bazaar is likely to stretch
your budget as well as your bargaining
skills and if you hanker for some spiritual
nourishment after all the hectic haggling,
then visit one of the 48 mosques in the city.
Further relaxation can be had at one of
the city’s public hammam bath houses – a
Turkish delight that should at least trim
a kilo or two from the waistline. For
locals they are an institutional meeting
place where business is discussed and
deals done.
In terms of unique meeting spaces, the
SALT Galata is a cultural research
institution inside the old banking halls of
the Imperial Ottoman Bank (1892-1999)
at Bankalar Caddesi.
While SALT is predominantly a
research and educational centre, it offers
event space on the top floor and a
218-seat auditorium.
President of the Istanbul Chamber of
Commerce & ICVB Mr Sekib Avdagiç
told us: “Istanbul is blessed with a rich
and intriguing culture and history.
Therefore, we believe that our city must
get its rightful share from tourism.”
He added: “As Istanbul Chamber of
Commerce, we are aware that
developments in the meetings industry
have a huge effect on urban economy.”
The ICVB President noted the city
had jumped 49 places in the ICCA city
rankings in 2018 and the CVB, under the
dynamic leadership of Dr Cemil Kilic, is
targeting getting back its top 10 place
again in the next couple of years.
With a European Champions League
final due in the city in May and a new
marketing strapline underlining this
magical place is really, ‘More than a
destination…The business. The history.
The journey’, the goal is wide open to
score big successes.
Below:
Istanbul Chamber
of Commerce
President Sekib
Avdagiç left, and
Deputy Culture
and Tourism
Minister Özgül
Özkan Yavuz - a
former head of the
ICVB, set out the
big plans of action
for Istanbul
ISSUE 105
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
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