Hotelbeds has signed a destination marketing deal with iGA Istanbul Airport. With the creation of a new destination marketing segment to attract professional travel buyers, Hotelbeds is securing special promotional rates on hotels and transfers in Istanbul, while maximising the exposure of one of the world’s busiest airports.

In doing so, the company aims to offer its customers a new way to access the best prices and availability in the market, while engaging and educating the global travel industry about the services iGA Istanbul Airport offers to millions of FIT (Free independent travellers) leisure tourists.

“This exciting new partnership with iGA Istanbul Airport demonstrates the value of Hotelbeds as a marketing partner and the importance of engaging our B2B customers,” said Joe Sheller, head of global destination marketing at Hotelbeds. “Through this campaign, in addition to our clients accessing promotional rates on hotels, activities and transfers in Istanbul, iGA will be able to maintain constant contact with the travel trade and inform them about shopping and dining at the airport, lounge features, the IGA PASS, Covid-19 updates and new flight routes.”

iGA Istanbul Airport opened in 2018 and quickly became the busiest airport in Europe. In 2021, the Turkish hub carried 37 million passengers, 27 million of them international, making it the second busiest airport in the world for international passenger traffic. Majid Khan, iGA Istanbul Airport VP aviation development said: “We are delighted to be the first mega hub to enter into a partnership with Hotelbeds. iGA Istanbul Airport, despite having 12 destinations in the United States and 3 in Canada, is the only mega hub in Europe that is not directly served by a North American Airline. We are the largest airport in Europe, and we believe that the cooperation between Hotelbeds and iGA Istanbul Airport will increase awareness of our airport and Istanbul as a destination in North America, increasing US passenger traffic to this untapped market.”

Joe Sheller added: “I would like to thank iGA for their forward-thinking strategy, as this is the first of many partnerships between Hotelbeds and an airport. This partnership marks the beginning of a new chapter in Hotelbeds’ destination marketing as we continue to expand our value proposition to ever wider segments of the travel industry.” Running until the end of December, the campaign will be promoted through the company’s two main distribution channels targeting Bedsonline’s retail travel advisors and Hotelbeds’ strategic customers in the United States.