Turkish Airlines, for the third time in a row, invited more than 250 participants from across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) to celebrate the 12th edition of the Istanbul Tulip Festival.

The event was organised between March 29 and April 1 to empower Istanbul’s tourism sector. Agencies, media members, and social media influencers were invited from the Mena region, and were able to participate in a commercial workshop at the end of the promotional tour.

Guests who attended the event were from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq, UAE, Tunisia, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. As part of the event, workshops were held by 25 hotels from Istanbul which resulted in over 2,250 meetings.

A gala dinner was organised at the end of the programme, hosting all participants including Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi. Speaking on the occasion, Eksi said: “We are pleased to have organised this event with 12 participating countries contributing to the Turkish tourism sector. In order to increase the number of passengers coming from the Middle East and North Africa region, we as Turkish Airlines will continue to support the Turkish tourism with charter and scheduled direct flights to cities such as Istanbul, Trabzon, Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir, Bursa. When our guests return to their countries, they will make an effort to gain every potential traveler by sharing the beauty of Istanbul, and its touristic richness.”

Sheetal Vijaykumar, a participant in the programme organised by Turkish Airlines and Adonis, sponsored by the Pullman, the Hilton, Conrad and Fairmont hotels, said: "Istanbul is a perfect city in every aspect; it is like a diamond on the crown of the world of tourism. Lately, global incidents have affected countries which included Brussels, Paris, London and Istanbul, but now as per my observation, I can say that the future of Istanbul tourism will be as colourful as the opening of tulips."

In 2005 the first international Istanbul Tulip Festival was organised and for the 12th time this year, participants at the event had the chance to view millions of tulips – in over 120 varieties - across parks, plazas and gardens. The Istanbul Tulip Festival has delivered a successful message at the event that the tulip is native to Istanbul, Turkey, and not Netherlands or Europe. - TradeArabia News Service