The festival will be spread over both the European and the Anatolian sides of the city -- Abdi İpekçi Street in Nışantaşı, Beyoğlu’s İstiklal Street, Bakırköy’s İstasyon Street, historic Sultanahmet Square, Bağdat Street, Kadıköy’s Bahariye Street and dozens of shopping malls. All these places will be full of spectacular shows, concerts, parties, huge discounts on products and much more until 2:00 a.m. every day.

A spectacular grand opening will be held on March 18 in Sultanahmet Square, while a parade will pass through İstiklal Street where 600 musicians will amuse the people in Beyoğlu. Retailers and artists will design new looks for the streets and store windows around the city. People will have the opportunity to participate in several lotteries; among the participants who have sent text messages for choosing the best-designed store window, one person will be the winner of a luxurious apartment from the Turkish construction company Sinpaş. Moreover, for every TL 40 spent using a credit card, people will get a ticket, and among these participants 20 lucky people will be the winner of a Renault. For tourists the excitement during the ISF will be doubled as they will have the privilege of tax-free shopping up to 30 percent, hence making Istanbul more and more appealing.

Even if the ISF is considered a retail event, several institutions such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Governors Office of Istanbul, the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the Turkish Council of Shopping Centers (AYD), the Trade Council of Shopping Centers and Retailers (AMPD) and the United Brands Association (BMD) will all work to make İstanbul’s first shopping fest an annual tourism event. Considering that Germany attracts over 2 million tourists to its October Fest, which lasts for only two weeks, experts point out that Istanbul could possibly exceed this number if hotels, travel agents and other players in the sector contribute to this goal.

Making Istanbul a world brand

Organizers say they expect to attract thousands of tourists to the fest, aiming to lure 10 million visitors by 2015. Between March 18 and April 26 religious holidays like Nevruz and Easter will be celebrated, enabling many people to go on vacation. “Different cultures and religions will blend during the fest,” said Ertuğrul Günay, minister of culture and tourism. Another fact that is important is that the political tensions and instability in Tunisia and Egypt will cause many tourists to select İstanbul as a vacation destination instead. Other countries from where the organizers expect tourists to come for the fest are Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Romania, Syria and Iraq.

AMPD President Mehmet Nane said in a previous statement that they want to focus not just on Istanbul’s history and tourism but also on its shopping centers and entertainment sector. He noted that the ISF committee has met 150 times so far to make the ISF a spectacular annual event. “We would like to make Istanbul a capital of the world. We will make a dream come true with this event.” BMD Chairman Yılmaz Yılmaz noted that their goal is to make “Istanbul a world famous brand.”

AYD President Hakan Kodal noted they expect consumers to spend about $1.8 billion during the fest, adding that they would like to increase this amount by a factor of 10 in 10 years’ time. “We don’t see this event [İSF] as an ordinary event for one year. We have plans for the next 10 years,” Kodal said in a statement to the Anatolia news agency.

TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi said in a previous statement that the retail sector is “highly important” for increasing the competitiveness of Turkey. “The government has a goal of reaching $500 billion in exports by 2023. We need to introduce Turkish retailers to other countries to make this happen. Therefore, the İSF will be an important factor in introducing both İstanbul and our companies to the rest of the world,” he noted.

İstanbul, the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents, is likely to increase its appeal to people around the world by starting this annual shopping fest. Without any doubt, the city will host many people from across the globe during the İSF, not only for shopping, but also for its historic sites, the Bosporus, cultural activities and much more. Experts all indicate that the main idea behind organizing the İSF is to advertise the mega city to the rest of the world and thereby to attract more tourists in the future