The World’s Travel Content Creators to Gather in İzmir
İzmir will host a major international event in 2027, bringing together travel content creators, tourism professionals and leading travel brands from around the world. TBEX Türkiye, organized in collaboration with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Tourism Branch Directorate and İZFAŞ, will welcome approximately 400 international delegates to İzmir from 7–10 September 2027.
TBEX Türkiye, an international conference and networking event connecting travel content creators with the travel industry, will bring hundreds of travel bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, photographers, influencers and traditional travel media representatives from around the world to İzmir.
Destination marketing organizations and leading travel brands seeking to develop new partnerships with professional storytellers will also take part in the event. Bringing content creators, tourism professionals and travel brands together, TBEX Türkiye will feature educational sessions, workshops, keynote speeches and networking events.
The program will offer participants the opportunity to experience İzmir’s historical, cultural and gastronomic heritage, as well as key destinations across the surrounding region, helping strengthen İzmir’s position within international travel and tourism networks.
“İzmir is a destination filled with stories”
Highlighting the important role travel content creators play in promoting destinations, TBEX CEO Rick Calvert said:
“Travel content creators do more than document a destination. They help people imagine themselves there. They create the emotional connection that inspires someone to book a trip, try a local dish, explore a neighborhood or discover a place they had never considered before.
“İzmir and the Aegean Region provide an extraordinary setting for this kind of storytelling. İzmir offers everything a travel storyteller could ask for: thousands of years of history, an exceptional culinary culture, a vibrant and modern lifestyle, and one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful coastlines.
“More importantly, İzmir is a destination filled with stories that many international travelers have yet to discover. We can’t wait to introduce our community to the city and the wider Aegean Region.”
TBEX Türkiye to build on İzmir’s international event experience
İZFAŞ General Manager Tuğçe Cumalıoğlu highlighted İzmir’s extensive experience in hosting international events:
“We are thrilled to bring major international events to our city and welcome industry professionals from around the world to İzmir.
“Last June, we hosted approximately 400 exhibition industry professionals from 36 countries at the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) European Conference, hosted by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality and İZFAŞ. Recorded as the largest regional conference in UFI’s 101-year history, the event once again demonstrated İzmir’s position in the international exhibition and events industry.
“Building on this experience, we are now bringing TBEX Türkiye to İzmir in collaboration with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Tourism Branch Directorate. We believe that TBEX Türkiye, which will bring together travel content creators, tourism professionals and travel brands from around the world, will make an important contribution to our city’s international visibility and help showcase İzmir’s tourism potential to global audiences.”
İzmir to gain greater visibility across international travel networks
Melih Kayacık, Head of the Tourism Branch Directorate at İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, said TBEX Türkiye represents an important opportunity to increase İzmir’s international recognition:
“We are looking forward to introducing İzmir to international content creators. TBEX Türkiye will make a significant contribution to İzmir’s international recognition and visibility across social media.
“By bringing a large number of international travel content creators together at a single event in Türkiye, TBEX Türkiye will also provide our local stakeholders with an opportunity to showcase their brands to international audiences.”
Participants to discover İzmir and the Aegean
Destination experiences, one of the defining features of TBEX events, will form an important part of the program, giving participants the opportunity to discover the cultural, historical and tourism assets of İzmir and the wider Aegean Region.
Participants will not only experience the host destination through the conference program but will also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the city’s culture, history, cuisine, landscapes and everyday life.
In İzmir city center, iconic landmarks including Kordon, Konak Atatürk Square and the İzmir Clock Tower, as well as the historic Kemeraltı Bazaar, will provide participants with opportunities to experience the city’s cultural and social life.
Archaeological and cultural heritage sites such as Ephesus and Pergamon will offer TBEX participants further opportunities to discover and create content about the region’s rich history.
The program is also expected to include experiences in some of İzmir’s most prominent coastal destinations, including Çeşme, Alaçatı and Urla. Known for their beaches, coastal lifestyle, windsurfing, vineyards and local markets, these destinations will provide opportunities to introduce international content creators to Aegean cuisine, particularly its seafood, olive oil, herbs, vegetables and local wines.
Travel content creators and industry professionals to connect
TBEX Türkiye will offer educational sessions covering content creation, video, social media, artificial intelligence, SEO, audience development, monetization and working with travel brands.
Participants will also take part in structured networking sessions and business meetings designed to foster future collaborations between content creators, destinations and travel brands.
Further details regarding tours, activities, speakers, registration and additional programming for TBEX Türkiye will be announced in the coming months.
About TBEX
TBEX is one of the world’s largest communities for travel content creators and the travel industry. Founded in 2009, TBEX has since organized events across North America, Europe and Asia.
Its global community includes travel content creators, influencers, bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, photographers, traditional media representatives, destination marketing organizations and travel brands.
TBEX events help content creators develop stronger and more sustainable business models while providing destinations and travel companies with opportunities to meet, evaluate and build relationships with storytellers whose audiences, content and values align with their objectives.