Istanbul’s growing attraction as a global tourist destination has been recognised by MasterCard’s biannually published Global Destination Index which, this week, named the Candidate City for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games the 5th most visited city in the world.
The survey compiles figures from 132 cities and reports an expected 11.6 million foreign visitors to Istanbul in 2012; only London, Paris, Bangkok and Singapore have higher projected numbers. Due to Istanbul’s rise to being the 5th most visited city there has been a 20.7% increase in revenue generated by tourists since the last Index, the 4th biggest increase of all the cities. Much of this revenue is being reinvested into developing infrastructure and accommodation as part of plans to host the 2020 Games – Istanbul was also recently ranked top in the ‘best accommodation’ section of the Sports Business Ultimate Sports Cities awards.
Hasan Arat, the Istanbul 2020 bid leader, talked about the implications of these findings for the Bid:
"Increased income from visitor spend, Istanbul has the 4th biggest increase overall, is another strength for Turkey’s economy - our economic growth is enabling Istanbul to build towards a spectacular 2020 Games. Our ranking as 5th for the number of foreign tourists displays that Istanbul is a city that people from all over the world want to experience.
"We want the 2020 Games to inspire young people from around the world; their desire to come and experience Istanbul reaffirms that it is the ideal city for this to happen."
Professor Uğur Erdener, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and head of the NOC of Turkey, spoke of what attracts people to the city:
"It is no surprise to me that Istanbul has ranked so highly – there is nowhere in the world like it. The city’s vibrant culture, rich history, hospitable people and spectacular location bridging Europe and Asia are all reasons tourists are visiting our city now, and why we feel it would make an inspiring host city for the Games in 2020."
For more information, please contact the Istanbul 2020 media team: media@instanbul2020.com.tr
Alternatively, find us online at www.istanbul2020.com.tr
on Twitter: @2020_istanbul or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Istanbul2020
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