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6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
http://kongresmagazine.eu/2015/05/istanbulmakingadifference/ 1/7
Istanbul Making a DifferenceBy Gorazd Čad - May 18, 2015
Exclusive interviw with Özgül Özkan Yavuz, General Manager, Istanbul ConventionBureau
TALKING BUSINESS
Q: What is purpose behind the campaign “A tale of two cities”?It is natural for meeting planners to have the idea that İstanbul is only a heritage
destination and that they may not have used as the base for a meeting or event before.
Istanbul is known as a popular culture and leisure destination though not so well known as a
flourishing and successful MICE destination – and this is where we aim to break down
misconceptions with our a dynamic marketing campaign ‘A Tale of Two Cities’.
The concept behind the campaign is to create awareness of Istanbul as a flourishing and
successful MICE destination Istanbul highlighting both its charm and capacity – by breaking
down misconceptions with the ‘two cities’ slogan to demonstrate the breadth and variety of
Istanbul as a destination, – old and new – highlighting the city’s hightech modern
Shares
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
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infrastructure juxtaposed against its monumental history to metaphorically reflect a city ofcontrasts.
We have created this campaign to strengthen city’s position in our already existing markets
and to reach out new regions around the world, to project a clearer message about our city
and to highlight and personify Istanbul’s contrasting styles in a huge variety of venues. It
offers a glimpse into the huge variety of venues and accommodation on offer for any size of
meeting and incentive, from the historical and stately to the cosmopolitan and cutting edge
including 7 convention centres, 3 exhibition centres, 49 universities and many unusual
venues to name just a few.
With the beginning of our new global campaign, we have also extended our visual brand
identity across various social media platforms through uptodate content, presence and
interaction, with presence now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube.
Q: Are you happy with the state of meetings industry in Istanbul?As the being in the World’s Top 10 Congress destination, simply the answer is yes but to
clarify: As Istanbul CVB, we have produced our first compherensive research and statistics
of both national and international state of congress and meeting industry in İstanbul. We
have concluded a detailed report including not only international congresses but also
national tradeshows, fairs meetings and congresses in general. This first 360 degrees report
we estimated the income of the congress industry to İstanbul and the report shows the
significant impact of MICE Industry in our city. We can easily say that meeting industry has
vital role in İstanbul’s economy. Thus the city’s international meeting industry representing
a top 10 location for conferences in the world, is a vital player both for the Istanbul and the
Turkish economy which makes the current state of meeting industry a success story for our
city. On the other hand, besides international congresses İstanbul is hosting approximately
150 national congresses per year and over 200 tradeshows which also have a huge impact
on the city’s economy.
In addition, we are striving to make Istanbul the first goto destination in international
meeting industry and continue to work towards the city increasing its market share of the
international MICE scene.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
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Q: Where is Istanbul meetings industry going?The number of meetings both nationally and internationally has been increasing rapidly. For
instance, the number of international congresses has been increased by 280 % in the last
10 years and we believe that the increase will continue in the future. İstanbul holds the
high percentage of the international congresses within the country which also makes
İstanbul the only city in the country that has been ranked in the World’s Top 10 Congress
Destination since 2010 by ICCA.
To look at the big picture, Opportunity Report of PwC explains İstanbul’s current condition
as one of the most dynamic cities. As one of the most dynamic and diverse economies in
Europe, a fastgrowing, increasingly important gateway between Turkey and all prominent,
booming economies its cosmopolitan character makes it an ideal nexus for global business
services. Nevertheless, we witness the same increase and dynamism in the meeting
industry. Istanbul has a full calendar of upandcoming meetings and congresses for the
next few years, not to mention the many sporting events and festivals that it hosts. We do
not anticipate any change in outlook in the coming future – Istanbul’s profile and
participation in international meetings continues to grow and be positioned ever more
positively. Therefore, our outlook also remains very positive and we expect Istanbul to rise
in its rankings for our industry.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
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Q: How are meeting planners habits changing?In a growing and evolving world, I can easily say that there is a constant change in all
industries as well as in the meeting industry. Therefore, with the need of adaptation the
meeting planners habits or in other words needs are changing constantly from technology
oriented solutions to venue selections, from RFPs to level of experience expectations. Its not
only choosing a destination like before, morelike selecting an experience or looking for a
value. A couple of weeks ago, I was impressed (but not suprised!) to see a report that
indicated that a small percentage of meeting planners uses social media to decide on a
destination. Social media has a vital role in the meetings industry, it gives us a great
opportunity for promotion, networking and even for onsite communication and has the
power of ‘World of Mouth’. Besides the technology, not to mention the importance of
enviromental issues also became one of the most important aspects of choosing a
destination for meeting planners.
The meeting industry trends shows that the destinations are preffered for smaller
conferences compare to previous years. Luckily, Istanbul is an ideal destination for both
larrger and smaller conferences. However, as the changing trends in result, the meeting
planners requirements has been switched to alternative/unusual venues where they can
experience ‘out of the box’ meetings and uniqueless. To give an example on this, I can
easily say that most of the times we receive the following question from meeting planners
much more than usual: ‘What is unique about your destination?’ and this shows that the
requirements of RFP’s became more value added for meeting planners.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
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Q: How is the industry changing in order to accommodate this?The industry is changing continously the reason as we and all industry partners needs to
respond the constantly changing habits or needs. If we look at the ‘sustainbility’, the
industry has been improved and still improving regarding on the needs and expectations.
As the industry we are trying to increase not only the quantity but also investment for
environment. For instance, Bureau Veritas and the Turkish Hotels and Investors Association
(TUROB) came together to give a green light to The Hotel Greening Project in order to move
the environmental agenda forward with İstanbul’s hotels by encouraging them to
implement environmentally friendly strategies. The important point here that I would like to
highlight is that the pilot project came to life during the 5th World Water Forum’s ‘Green
Forum Initiative’ to raise awareness on hotel greening techniques and also to encourage
participating hotels to take the first step toward greener accommodation. İstanbul
Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) is also one of the major authority giving great importance to
a sustainable environment. As consciousness for the environment grows day by day,
environmentally managed hotels are receiving more and more interest. Tourism is one of
the most consuming service sectors. So, with the motto “Conservation & Use”, the
hospitality sector should be the leader of sustainability in tourism and environment.
Q: What’s the importance of meetings industry trade shows like IMEX?Indeed, important! To develop strong social relationships, in spite of all developments in
technology and usage of it, social relationship will always remain crucial and we believe in
the power of face to face meetings. A big gathering not only with our potential decision
makers/hosted buyers but also with the industry to learn and share so for both business and
educational perspective is important.Furthermore, tradeshows are significant in order to
attract association congresses from different regions and to showcase our destination with
more wide aspects direct to associations and meeting planners. As İstanbul CVB, we are
aware of the importance of the trade shows at both national and regional levels to be able to
enhance İstanbul’s competitive level in the international market.
Q: What future do you wants to see for Istanbul meetings industry?Congress and meeting sector become powerfull since 1990s in Turkey and Istanbul. Now
having Istanbul in the 8th place in the world is an important success but we still needs to
take Istanbul to up level. Keeping up with the new trends will revive our business. I
personally think that networking and business partnerships are very important. Istanbul
CVB and other promotion corporations work is not enough on their own. That’s why all of
the players on this sector must come into the front at the international arena. Companies
must participate to the education programs more and even organize these programs
themselves. We are targeting to be a Top 3 Congress destination in the world.
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As the Convention Bureau, surely we aim to increase number of international congresses in
Istanbul and we are also trying to have more ambassadors. In general, Istanbul’s strategies
for the meeting industry should be incorporated in the city’s economic strategies and we
should create a joint effort with intellectual capital of the city, especially universities. I also
strongly believe that meting industry is more than the economic contribution; the meetings
are bringing people together to discuss and to produce and fostering the dialogue between
people which has a great value in today’s world.
GETTING PERSONAL
Q: What time do you like to be at your desk?At 9 o’clock promptly
Q: What’s your management style?I would call my management style as “democratic”, I happily allow my team members to
participate in decision making. I prefer just to give guidance but it also depends on the
situation and my team member. Some are asking more supervision whereas some others
are taking more responsibility, so my style may change accordingly . I will be more than
happy if I can delegate more.
6/23/2015 Istanbul Making a Difference KONGRES – Europe Meetings Industry Magazine
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Q: What does your support team look like?All female…. dedicated, crazy about details, hardworking and passionate about Istanbul
Q: What would your key management advice be?Encourage your team to work on the problem, be supportive and provide clear feedback
BIG IS BEAUTIFUL