Trade chamber to turn Ankara into hub for international conventions

The Turkish capital is soon to become one of the leading centers for international conferences and conventions, the head of the Ankara Trade Chamber has said, outlining their objectives to let Ankara receive its piece of the share of the $400 billion-worth market.

"Ankara is a very suitable city for organizing congresses and fairs. We believe it will make its name through the international conventions that will be held in 2015," Salih Bezci, head of the Ankara Trade Chamber (ATO) told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. "Ankara will host 41 fairs out of the 456 that will be held in all of Turkey. This is very important," he said, underlining that the city will host nearly 10 percent of all such events.

Ankara is the capital of Turkey with a population of nearly 4 million and is home to the top governmental institutions; the presidency, parliament and all ministries, as well as the military headquarters. 

The ATO established in early 2014 a special unit under the title of "Ankara Conventions and Visitor Bureau" to coordinate works for making the capital a "city of congress," Bezci said, adding that the bureau joined the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in late 2014. "Our membership to this association is very important because all such bureaus communicate with each other and the cities can expose their existence through this association," he said.

The Bureau is being run by Seçim Ayd?n who is currently holding meetings with stakeholders for this objective. Bezci stressed that the ATO has become the first trade chamber establishing such an office among all other chambers under the roof of the Turkey's Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB).
"We are of the opinion that Ankara will prove its...