Istanbul top wedding tourism destination

About 600,000 couples tie the knot in the city every year

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul The Blue Mosque in Istanbul

(ANSAmed) – ISTANBUL, JANUARY 11 – The Turkish metropolis on the Bosporus is the most popular destination the world over to get married in and in which to hold wedding receptions, profiting the local industry greatly. This fact surfaced in a survey conducted by a Turkish website which provides information to couples who will be getting married soon, and which shows that over the first 11 months of 2011 Istanbul saw a total of 166,000 receptions compared with the 114,000 in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA).

There are a reported 600,000 couples who get married every year in Turkey, with an average age of 24 for women and 27 for men.

The number of guests invited to each reception average 240, with an average cost of 25,000 Turkish liras (10,460 euros). The survey also shows that 30 million Turkish liras (12.5 million euros) in turnover is related to weddings. The sectors benefitting the most are those of wedding attire (theme-based shopping centres see a total of 150,000 visitors per year, with people coming from the Middle East, the Balkans and Greece as well), jewellery (with estimated turnover of around 2.5 billion euros per year, 65% of which concentrated in Istanbul) and the reception organisation. According to the manager of a luxury hotel in Istanbul, 40% of the couples tying the knot in the city on the Bosporus are foreigners, coming mostly from Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Greece, North America and Russia, but some are also from Europe. In November the World of Marriage Fair 2011 was held in Istanbul, with 200 companies from around the world taking part, including companies operating in the jewellery and wedding attire sectors as well as connected sectors. (ANSAmed).

via Turkey: Istanbul top wedding tourism destination – Turkey – ANSAMed.it.