President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) makes statements about Istanbul's tourism.
Shekib Avdagic, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO), stated that one of the most important values of Istanbul was its potential for tourism. Stating that they were working together to develop tourism in Istanbul, Avdagic said, “As the Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV) and the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) we are doing many different projects together with TÜROB., ” he said.
It was reported that the increase in investment in the hospitality sector had started again and according to the Ministry of Industry and Technology, 42 new hotel projects in a total of 23 provinces across the country received investment incentive certificates in the first 4 months of this year. Based on reports, it seems that the total of these investments will be completed using incentives in the amount of 1 billion 892 million TL.
Expressing they believe that the greatest master and builder of the Istanbul brand was tourism, Avdagic said: “For this reason, as ITO, we stand by every initiative that will contribute to the development of our city with great determination. We know that tourism is the only sector that will move Istanbul forward in every aspect, shine it up and add added values to all sectors in Istanbul.”
Stating that 5.3 million tourists were accommodated in Istanbul in the first 5 months of 2022 and a good point was reached, Avdagic said, “The positive trend in the number of guests we hosted in Istanbul is also higher than the trend captured by Turkey. In this sense, we are optimistic for the remaining 6 months of the year."
Recalling that tourism revenue increased by more than 120 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, Avdagic said it was very clear that both Turkey and Istanbul, in particular, were in a “take off” period in terms of tourism.
