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İstanbul hotels poised for record year thanks to capital of culture
Apart from displaying İstanbul’s unique features, cultural heritage and arts, the ECOC tenure is expected to boost the already buoyant tourism industry in Turkey’s most populous city. According to data from the İstanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate the metropolis attracted more than 7.5 million foreign and local tourists last year, an increase of 6.5 percent over 2008, despite the global economic downturn and overall drop in the number of tourists visiting Turkey.
This year, officials are aiming for the magic number of 10 million visitors, which would be a surge of more than 30 percent compared to 2009. A boost in visitor numbers can surely be expected. A 2004 study carried out on behalf of the European Commission, known as the Palmer Study, revealed that the ECOC program works as a catalyst for the cultural development of a selected city and its tourism industry. In some cities, the title led to a sharp rise in the number of visitors and tourism revenue. However, the Palmer Study also points out that cities often grossly overrate the impact and are too ambitious in the objectives they set themselves. Could this be the case with İstanbul?
Zehra Soysal of the İstanbul Culture and Tourism Directorate is convinced that attracting 10 million tourists is not just a pipe dream. “Of course it is difficult to predict, but we truly believe that it is possible to reach this number,” she told Today’s Zaman. “Most visitors this year will probably come from Europe, but we are not only focusing our attention on Europeans. İstanbul is a city that is renowned around the globe, so we are trying to attract tourists from all over the world as well as visitors from inside Turkey,” Soysal said.
Golden Apple
The hotel industry has equally high hopes that 2010 will break all visitor records. Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Seçim Aydın, vice chairman of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED), stated that İstanbul hotel owners expect a 20 percent hike in the occupancy rates of hotels, with room prices poised to rise as well.
In order to increase the bed capacity to host the anticipated increase in tourists, Aydın said that “serious investments were made.” According to a statement by Kadir Topbaş, the mayor of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, at a press conference earlier this week, the construction of new hotels will bring an extra capacity of 23,000 beds. Aydın says: “Most investments were carried out by five star hotels, mainly located in the European part of the city, providing jobs in both the construction and hotel industries as well as boosting employment with suppliers. Other investments are on the way, but they should be spread among both the Anatolian and the European side.”
TÜROFED shares the goal of attracting 10 million visitors stated earlier by officials and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “It is a realistic target for this year. Hotel managers and investors will want to seize the opportunities the ECOC events bring with them,” Aydın believes. If İstanbul reaches this ambitious mark, the success will prove a tough act to follow in the years to come. The Palmer Study shows that most cities experienced a decline in visitor flows the years following their tenure as ECOC. “I’m sure this won’t apply to İstanbul, as the city has the potential to increase its number of tourists every year. We will see the benefits of this event in the following years with similar anticipated projects such as İstanbul Capital of Fashion and İstanbul Finance Center, slated for 2011 or 2012,” Aydın said.
Meanwhile İstanbul’s efforts to improve its image haven’t gone unnoticed. According to Aydın, the World Federation of Journalists and Travel Writers (FIJET) will this year award İstanbul the Golden Apple, a prestigious prize for excellence in the tourism industry.
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