Istanbul climbed to 18th place globally and 13th in Europe in congress tourism after hosting 95 major international congresses in 2025, achieving its best world ranking in the past decade, according to a report by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

Data compiled by the Anadolu Agency (AA) from the GlobeWatch 2025 ICCA Countries and Cities Rankings Report showed that Türkiye maintained 33rd place globally with 142 major international congresses in 2025, while ranking 18th in Europe.

Istanbul, which ranked 20th globally and 15th in Europe in 2024, moved up two places within a year, strengthening Türkiye’s position in the international congress market.

The ICCA report described Istanbul as the main driving force behind Türkiye’s overall performance and said the city continued to strengthen its role as a key transit and congress destination through its steady rise.

According to the report, Istanbul’s sector-focused congress strategy and growing presence in medicine and science demonstrated how international meetings enhance cities’ reputations, professional networks, and long-term competitiveness.

The city ranked 39th globally with 62 congresses in 2016 before falling sharply to 133rd place in 2017. Since 2022, however, Istanbul has recorded uninterrupted growth, rising to 23rd place in 2022, 21st in 2023, 20th in 2024, and 18th in 2025 with 95 congresses, marking its strongest performance in 10 years.

Lisbon topped the global congress city rankings, followed by Paris and Barcelona. Vienna, Singapore, Prague, Copenhagen, London, Seoul, and Tokyo completed the top 10.

Among countries, the U.S. maintained first place, followed by Italy and Germany.

The Istanbul Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB), which works to attract large international congresses to the city, accelerated lobbying efforts, target market studies, and destination promotion projects to improve Istanbul’s congress acquisition processes.

ICVB has also strengthened cooperation with organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization and ICCA while expanding ties with international associations and congress decision makers.

Over the past three years, the bureau has concentrated its efforts on North America and Latin America as target markets. In cooperation with the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) and Turkish Airlines (THY), ICVB met with 20 senior congress decision makers from North America during the “GoTürkiye Destination Promotion Event” to promote Istanbul for congresses with more than 2,000 participants.

ICVB also participated in WTM Latin America to attract more visitors and international congresses from the Americas, while continuing its presence at IMEX Frankfurt and IBTM Barcelona in the European market.

One of the strategic initiatives behind the city’s rise was the Intellectual Capital Research Project launched by ICVB in 2024.

The project aims to place Istanbul among the world’s top five congress tourism cities in the long term. Within the initiative, 74 intellectual capital leaders capable of bringing large-scale international meetings to the city were identified, and lobbying activities with these figures have continued in 2025.

ICVB will also participate in the IMEX Frankfurt Fair with an Istanbul destination stand, where Istanbul’s congress tourism potential will be promoted to international decision makers for three days in cooperation with TGA, Turkish Airlines, and sector representatives.

Speaking to AA, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) and ICVB President Şekib Avdagiç said the bureau’s goal was first to place Istanbul among the world’s top 10 congress cities and ultimately among the top five.