TÜROB President Müberra Eresin attends the Istanbul Tourism Fair press conference.

Müberra Eresin, President of TÜROB – the Turkish Hoteliers Association, attended the press conference held at Swissotel The Bosphorus, where the latest preparations and goals for the fair were shared, ahead of the Istanbul Tourism Fair (ITF), which is preparing to open its doors for the fourth time on 24–25 September 2026 at the Yenikapı–Eurasia Show and Arts Center to bring together global tourism professionals in Istanbul.

The meeting was attended by Bahadır Yaşık, Board Member of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Development and Education Foundation (TUGEV); Davut Günaydın, Vice President of TÜRSAB; Mete Vardar, Chairman of the Board of Dream Project; Volkan Ataman, Board Member and CEO of Dream Project; Mert Vardar, Board Member of Dream Project; Utkan Gülaçtı, General Manager of Swissotel The Bosphorus; as well as TÜROB Secretary General İsmail Taşdemir, TÜROB Board Members Ayhan Hacıbektaşoğlu and Nuri Kalyoncu, TÜROB Press Advisor Belma Toprak, and numerous members of the press and invited guests. 

The comprehensive global research conducted by Dream Project ahead of the ITF once again revealed Türkiye's strong position in the world tourism market. According to the survey, in which 10,000 tourism professionals from 150 countries took part, 21 percent of respondents represent companies managing budgets exceeding 5 million dollars, while 58 percent represent companies managing budgets exceeding 250,000 dollars. The main focus of these high-budget buyers is the luxury accommodation infrastructure and exclusive destination products that Türkiye offers.

The Istanbul Tourism Fair, to be set up across a 10,000-square-metre area at the Yenikapı–Eurasia Show and Arts Center, will host 345 exhibiting companies. With more than 8,000 B2B meetings to be held over two days, the ITF will go beyond being merely an exhibition venue, serving as a strong business platform where the commercial foundations of the 2027 tourism season will be laid.

As part of the Tourism Summit to be held concurrently with the fair, 83 domestic and international expert speakers will address, under 17 different headings, topics concerning the present and future of the sector – from the MICE industry to luxury tourism trends, and from the CIS market to Middle East and Egypt destination analyses. 

Sharing her assessments at the meeting, TÜROB President Müberra Eresin drew attention to the importance the Istanbul Tourism Fair holds for the sector and said: “For the accommodation sector, the Istanbul Tourism Fair is an extremely important event that enables direct contact with the right buyers and offers high cooperation potential. As TÜROB, we are pleased to be part of this structure and to support the ITF. We believe that the ITF, which effectively reflects the strong position of Istanbul and Türkiye in tourism on the international stage, will once again make important contributions to our sector this year. We expect the synergy the fair creates to generate positive and lasting effects across the tourism sector as a whole. The Istanbul Tourism Fair has become one of the first and most important events to bring together NGOs, associations and sector leaders in the tourism industry on the same platform. With this unity of strength and shared vision, we aim to carry the ITF into the top three fairs in the world tourism sector.”