Destinasyonların Toplantı Turizmi Amaçlı Pazarlanmasında Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürolarının Rolü: İstanbul Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürosu Örneği

Bu çalışmada, destinasyon pazarlama örgütü olarak Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürosunun bir destinasyonun toplantıturizmi amaçlıpazarlanmasında rolünün araştırılmasıamaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini İstanbul ve İstanbul Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürosu oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın bir örnek olay çalışmasıolmasınedeniyle niteliksel yöntemler olarak yarıyapılandırılmışgörüşme ve ikincil veri analizi yöntemleriyle veriler toplanmışve değerlendirilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular: İstanbul Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürosu kurulduğu yıldan itibaren günümüze kadar geçen sürede gerçekleştirdiği faaliyetler ile toplantısayısıve katılımcısayısıbakımından İstanbul’u dünyada ilk yirmi destinasyon içinde yer alan bilinir bir toplantıturizmi destinasyonu haline getirmiştir. Büro Avrupa ve dünyadaki benzerleri ile karşılaştırıldığında yapısal açıdan diğer bürolardan farklıdeğildir. Farklılık noktasıbüronun misyon, görevler, tanıtım ve pazarlama faaliyetlerinde toplantıturizmine odaklanmasıdır. Araştırma ayrıca İstanbul Kongre ve Ziyaretçi Bürosunun bütçenin sınırlıolması, güvenlik, yeterli toplantıve konaklama arzının olmamasıve kullanımı, yeterli sponsor bulunamaması, kamu kuruluşlarının desteklerinin yetersiz oluşu, tercüman sorunu gibi sorunlar ile karşılaştığınıve bu sorunların çözümü durumunda İstanbul ve Türkiye’nin toplantıturizmi amaçlıgelişimine ve dünya ve Avrupa’daki payının artmasına katkısının artarak devam edeceğini göstermektedir.

This study aims to reveal the role of a Convention and Visitors Bureau CVB as a destination marketing organization in marketing of destinations for tourism purposes. Meetings, fairs and exhibitions have created the most economic value and are the fastest growing section of the tourism industry even if they indicate some fluctuations due to reasons such as economic stagnation, the increase in oil prices and terrorist attacks. As a special kind of tourism which has different features compared to others, the basic attraction element for the convention tourism is the convention itself. For the convention tourism, accessibility of a destination is more important than destination attraction elements which are seen as crucial elements for many tourism types. As a country or city, presence of infrastructure and quality convention and accommodation superstructure which require rather large investments are essential to be able to get a share from convention tourism which has high-status participants and provides higher yield both from the economical and image points of view with its organization. But today, having the necessary infrastructure and superstructure is not enough to get the desired share from convention tourism. Because of its high return, almost all countries’ efforts to develop required supply structure to get a share from convention tourism constantly intensify the competition in the sector. In addition to infrastructure and superstructure, increasing competition in convention tourism makes marketing and promotion activities important and highlights the role of CVBs as destination marketing organizations. Although all enterprises which form the sector contribute to marketing and promotion of tourism destinations for tourism purposes at a certain level, the main marketing tasks are carried out by the CVBs. CVB is defined as a non-profit organization which is commissioned with representing a particular destination and help communities’ development in the long term through a travel and tourism strategy, is a destination marketing organization. The main task of the CVBs to develop their cities as attractive destinations for visitors with convention and entertainment purposes, promote them, improve their image, and provide economic contribution. With a developing role of the CVBs in the tourism sector through the history, today they have turned into an organizations which continues to maintain marketing activities not only for convention tourism purposes but also general tourism purposes. CVBs are the assistant organizations in inviting the visitors who form their target markets, tour operators and meeting planners to their cities by its services, providing information on tourism attractions of cities, facilities and conditions required for the conventions and establishing a communication bridge between producers and enterprises. In short, they are the organizations which sell the cities. CVBs fulfill their tasks by improving the image of cities which they market as an attractive destination for meetings and visitors, coordinating the enterprises and organizations which form the tourism industry and the public sector, working together with meeting and group planners, preventing conflicts between supply and demand sides as an impartial organization, providing information and answering visitors’ questions and playing a leadership role in the industry. The basic causes for the emergence of the CVBs, its most important areas of interest today and basic pursuits are MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions market. Although CVBs work often as an organization to market cities for convention and general tourism purposes, they may also operate at regional or national scale. CVBs are public in structural terms, autonomous, non-profit or private organizations. The basic reality of CVBs is that to sell a product which has no control in its production process and ownership to a person or group who have responsibilities to others. Therefore, their success depends on having adequate financial resources, being in a close cooperation with enterprises which form the sector and providing up-to-date and accurate information to buyers which form the demand side. Istanbul with a convenient geographical location, its infrastructure for convention tourism purposes, convention centers and quality accommodation enterprises is a city where vast majority of national and international conventions have been held and the first convention and visitors bureau of Turkey was founded. Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau ICVB were founded in 1997. Because this study is a case study, as a qualitative method semi-structured ten questions for face to face interviews were used and the secondary data relating to the activities of the Bureau was obtained during these interviews. The semi-structured interview questions were formed by taking two key elements into account; the questions which provide basic information ICVB and the role of ICVB in convention tourism. ICVB managers had stressed the matter that using statistical data of ICCA International Congress and Convention Association in relation to the eighth question would be more healthy. In addition, they pointed out that it was not possible to answer the second part of the question. In this respect, statistical data showing the development of Istanbul in the convention market was derived from the ICCA’s data. According to the survey results, through its activities from its foundation year to the present, ICVB have made Istanbul a well known convention tourism destination in top twenty destination in the world in terms of the number of conventions and participants. The Bureau is not different from other similar organizations in Europe and the world when they are compared in structural terms. Distinction arises from focusing on the convention tourism in the Bureau’s mission, promotion and marketing activities. It is obvious that ICVB’s contribution to Istanbul and Turkey’s convention tourism development and increase in their share in Europe and the world will continue if the problems of the inadequate budget, security,inadequate superstructure and accommodation supply and under utilization of accommodation and convention facilities,lack of public sector institutions’ support,difficulty in finding sponsors and thelack of interpreters problems are resolved. This study has some limitations. The basic limitation of the study is the insufficient statistical data related to national and international conventions held in Istanbul. In this context, there are inconsistencies between the ICCA’s national convention statistics and statistical data available at ICVB’s web site. Impossibility to identify the conventions which had been brought to Istanbul through ICVB’s marketing and promotion efforts constitutes the limitation. Another limitation is that the lack of regular accurate data on annual work plans, marketing budget, general budget covering the time series starting from ICVB’s foundation to the present. The real impact of ICVB in Istanbul’s development in convention tourism in real terms can only be determined by provision of accurate reliable statistics