President Çağlar said, “Our goal is to make sure that everyone views the world from Istanbul.”The President of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC), Ibrahim Çağlar, was elected both as the president of the Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV) and the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB).
Çağlar stated that TUGEV was founded in 1984 with a dream of making Turkey a country where everyone in the rest of the world would want to visit and see. He continued his words “Today, we have made most of that dream come true. As members of TUGEV management, we want to further improve this dream. Tourism is an important industry and will remain so for many years to come. And our country has all what is needed to rank among the top tourist destinations across the world.”
Target is to Keep Istanbul on Top
President Çağlar pointed out that the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB), established in 1997 as part of TUGEV to improve and support congress tourism, had ever since been playing an important role in putting under light and promoting the true value of Istanbul. Çağlar said, “As an emerging city, hosting both eastern and western cultures and offering high quality and affordable services in almost every industry segment, Istanbul ranked first among the leading international congresses, hosting 500 participants and over, for two consecutive years, i.e. 2011 and 2012, according to data released by the International Congress and Convention Association. As the new members elected to the management of both TUGEV and ICVB, we aim to develop brand new projects to contribute to the improvement of the country’s tourism industry and Istanbul, as we strongly believe in the future and potential of this country and Istanbul alike.”
The World will be Viewed from Istanbul
Commenting, “Having great opportunities should take us to progress, development and growth,” Çağlar said, “Living in Istanbul brings you both the joy of life and certain responsibilities. Viewing the rest of the world from Istanbul alone requires us to make efforts to help the city become the centre of the world. We wish to make that everyone views the rest of the world from Istanbul.”
TUGEV and ICVB: Driving forces behind tourism
The Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV) was established in an effort to make the potential of our national tourism industry a reality, create new potential business areas, improve the industry’s contribution to Turkey’s national economy, and develop short and long-term policies for the industry. TUGEV focuses particularly on education and congress tourism.
In 1997, TUGEV formed within its organisation the Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB), which is the first regional tourism promotion organisation established in Turkey, to keep up with the international developments in the industry. Through the projects it has been developing over the last 10 years, ICVB has helped Istanbul become one of the top international congress destinations in the world.
