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Handan Boyce, General Manager of Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau

“The 2010 European Capital of Culture title will enhance the city’s status as a vibrant cultural centre and one of the world’s great meeting places and add extra value to events taking place in Istanbul in 2010”

A few days after meeting French buyers at the 2010 Bedouk MC&IT Exhibition, Handan Boyce, GM of ICVB, highlights the assets of the destination and its latest status of European Capital of Culture.

BWMN: What is your feedback about the last edition of Bedouk MC&IT Exhibition?

Handan Boyce: Istanbul CVB exhibited at Bedouk MC&IT Exhibition for the first time this year within the Turkey Season in France initiative. It was a great opportunity to present Istanbul to French buyers as a fast growing and popular meetings and events destination. We sponsored the Association Cocktail which enabled us to expose and promote our destination directly to buyers. It was a very successful event for us. Our stand which was located at the entrance of the International Village took great deal of attention and was visited by many meeting and event planners. I am glad to say that we generated business for 2010 and 2011 during the Show so it means we achieved our goal with Bedouk.

BWMN: What’s new in Istanbul’s’ conference valley’? Any new facilities for MICE clients?

Handan Boyce: “Conference Valley” is the name of the district where the major convention venues are located with various categories of hotels within walking distance. Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center ICEC, Istanbul Convention Center ICC which is the brand new center of the Valley, Hilton Exhibition Center and the Military Museum are the venues used for meetings and congresses both individually or combined. The district hosts most of the major congresses held in Istanbul. ICC is the new center with 3,000 auditorium capacity. ICEC has a 2,000 auditorium capacity. When combined, the venues in Conference Valley can now cater to congresses and meetings for up to 15,000 participants.

BWMN: What does it represent for Istanbul to be the 2010 Capital of Culture?

Handan Boyce: The 2010 European Capital of Culture title will enhance the city’s status as a vibrant cultural centre and one of the world’s great meeting places for centuries and add extra value to events taking place in Istanbul in 2010. In 2010, more than ever, Istanbul will be a place where people and cultures come together to create exceptional events. Many people from the world of culture and the arts, together with members of the print and visual media, will come to Istanbul from all around the world. This will also make a positive contribution to the promotion and branding of Istanbul. Being selected as a European Capital of Culture will give a boost to the city’s economic relations with Europe as well as contributing to its cultural relations.

BWMN: You are an active member of ICCA, what are the major actions of the association for 2010?

Handan Boyce: Being a member of ICCA for 13 years now, we closely pursue and participate in ICCA activities every year and thus increase our ROI from our membership by making use of the benefits ICCA offers to its members. ICCA Congress is one of the major industrial educational as well as networking platform for our team. We never stop attending client workshops for CVBs where we generate business. The Association market proved to be the most resilient market for destinations during the crisis and therefore the expanded database of ICCA is a very valuable tool for us.

www.icvb.org