The relationship between fairs-city branding: A historical study on İzmir International Fair

Globalization across the world brings about the competitive environment and the increasing efforts to obtain a share from the existing market affect the success of cities as an important element of tourism, as much as goods and services of suppliers. Cities try to increase their tourism movements by using their strengths. In this context, fairs are one of the important factors that increase tourism movements. Cities can make their names, both nationally and internationally, due to the fairs organized. With the stable investments they have made, it has the chance to become a brand city in the fair industry and stands out against its competitors. The aim of this study is to assess the contribution of fairs, which is one of the attractive elements of today's tourism, in creating a brand city, and to evaluate this through the development and change of the contributions made by İzmir International Fair to the city, the most rooted organization of İzmir. The study applied an interview method. Using the snowball sampling, the study findings are based on the data collected out of twenty people representing different professions who have mastered the development of the İzmir International Fair and experienced the fair for many years. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings reveal that the İzmir International Fair has significantly contributed to the development of İzmir in terms of economic, social, cultural, promotion-marketing and tourism, and was able to make its name known as a brand. However, the study concludes that, in recent years, the fair has lost its former importance due to the change in the age and the orientation to specialized fairs, the practices of municipal administrations and İZFAŞ, the decrease in its economic characteristics and the development of communication technologies.