Turkey’s key meetings industry trade show, ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition (AME 2017), returns this week for a fourth edition at the Istanbul Congress Center (22-24 February).
Sponsored by Turkish Airlines, organisers Tourism Media Group claim the show has grown into the world’s third-largest MICE exhibition.
This year’s exhibition motto is: “We get together with all our colours” and show highlights include a major session, ‘MICE Professionals are Gathering to Build the Future’, a session on sporting events, a meeting of communication societies, and a session of interest from last year’s MICE’s Genies.
Organisers expect to build on the 15,000 visitors that attended the exhibition last year and are forecasting in excess of 750 buyers from Turkey and 39 other countries.
Two hundred buyer representatives will be hosted in Istanbul over the four days.
Tourism Media Group president Volkan Ataman said that the aim is to bring together all the actors of the MICE industry. ”With the congresses, meetings and events continuing all year around, our objective is to compensate the losses in tourism because of the negative developments which we have experienced in the last years,” said Ataman.
Clearly Turkey has been one of the country’s hit hard by recent terror attacks and organisers are hoping the show will provide a fillip for the wider tourism industry.
Turkish Airlines vice general manager (marketing and sales) Ahmet Olmuştur was upbeat, adding: ”The MICE industry is a fast-growing industry in our country in the past 10 years. We are aware of the importance of MICE and, with this awareness, our products are constantly being improved in line with the feedback from the sector.
“At the same time, the fair also has an important place in the introduction of Istanbul, our hub and the emergence of new business opportunities. Thanks to ACE of MICE. Exhibition by Turkish Airlines, we have no doubt that we will be able to show our country, our city and our services to the invited buyers from all over the world.”
