The Turkey and Neighbours Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC) will return to Istanbul for the fourth year from 9-10th June 2014 at the newly-opened Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center.
The event will highlight the investment opportunities available in Turkey and provide an opportunity to meet some of the industry’s top-level executives.
“Turkey is a key market for investors seeking growth opportunities,” says Mehmet Önkal, managing partner at Turkey-based BDO Hospitality Consulting. “CATHIC provides the perfect venue for both the local and international market to come together to listen, learn and network”
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 2013 report on global tourism, Turkey ranked third in terms of increasing tourism revenues for the first eight months of 2013, an increase of 22% compared with the same period in the previous year.
The 2013 event, which attracted more than 300 delegates from 23 countries, highlighted the need to alter the current perceptions surrounding investment in the Turkish market, as well as instigating more open and in-depth conversations between the government and the investment community.
The advisory board also identified an opportunity in the CATHIC programme for a focus on the resort market, and plans to include a feature dedicated to this segment of the Turkish hospitality industry are currently underway.
A selection of other key issues to be discussed at the conference include the role that transportation and air linkages play in hotel and tourism investment; opportunities for development in the luxury market; how to minimise unused hotel capacity; the development of extended-stay and mixed-use products, including residential complexes; and the paradigm shift to social platforms within the hospitality industry.
