Today the World Tourism Forum in Istanbul opened at the new Lütfi Kırdar Uluslararası Kongre Center-ICEC.
Delegated from many corners of the world met in the city between Europe and Asia. Tourism Ministers from Ghana, Macedonia, Azerbaijan and Turkey discussed security and cooperation during the ministerial panel.
Bulut Bagci, president of the World Tourism Forum presided over the opening ceremony. The Turkish tourism minister Mahir Unal appealed to delegates that Turkey is a safe and welcoming country for travel and tourism.
Jose Manuel Barroso, who was president of the European Commission, warned about closing borders to fight terrorism and deal with the refugee crisis.
Happy passengers spend $12 at a airport in shopping, food and entertainment at airports, compared to unhappy passenger. Taking the stress out of an airport passenger is to give all information online and on applications passengers can download on their smart phone.
This is the secret of success for Attatürk Istanbul international airport according to the airport boss. He said: “The key is: We want happy employees and happy customers, good cyber security and excellent physical security.”
Events today included presentation on Destination Management, Tourism Investments, Wedding Events, Women in Travel, Hospitality and Luxury travel.
Arkin Kol, the regional director of Dolby talked about branding a nation on Cinema Tourism, and the power of Hollywood.
eTN publisher Juergen T Steinmetz will be joining the media and tourism panel on Friday at 2.35pm
The Turkish president is expected to join the World Tourism Forum on Saturday.