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Foreign travel agencies have begun adding Iznik (ancient Nicaea), a historic district of Bursa, to their tour packages as interest in faith tourism grows, with local tourism representatives expecting a stronger flow of international visitors after May.
The district, known for its monumental structures from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods, has gained fresh attention abroad, according to Engin Balta, head of the South Marmara Regional Representative Board of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, known as TURSAB.
Balta said Iznik had become one of the most talked-about destinations during recent international tourism promotion efforts, especially after Pope Leo XIV visited the district on Nov. 28 last year.
Balta said the pope’s visit received wide coverage in the international press and helped put Iznik forward as a faith tourism destination. He noted that this visibility had encouraged many foreign visitors to show interest in the district.
“We most recently attended the Berlin International Tourism Exchange, ITB. Iznik was being talked about a lot there. Especially, agencies from abroad have prepared tour packages for Iznik. We plan to host a very large number of foreign tourists in Iznik after the May period,” Balta said.
He added that faith routes prepared for Iznik had already been reviewed on the ground, with local tradespeople also being contacted as part of preparations for expected tourism activity.
According to information received by Anadolu, hotels in Bursa hosted 365,078 foreign tourists and 1.39 million domestic tourists last year. The city recorded nearly 2.95 million overnight stays, while the average stay stood at 1.67 nights.
Balta said Bursa had experienced intense tourism activity last year, adding that the current goal was to draw in more international visitors. He pointed out that Bursa had already attracted strong interest from Indonesia, Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries, especially Kuwait.
He also said the city had begun receiving European visitors at a level they had not expected, describing the gradual increase from these markets as encouraging for local tourism.
Balta said TURSAB had been working on projects for Bursa and Yalova tourism since taking office in October. These efforts include hosting travel agencies from Indonesia and Malaysia, bringing in members of the international press and taking part in major tourism fairs around the world.
He said preparations were underway for a tourism fair in Malaysia, followed by another in Moscow, while cooperation continued with the Bursa Culture, Tourism and Promotion Union.
Balta said several routes had been created for foreign visitors interested in Iznik, and package programs were being shared with agencies abroad so they could offer them to their own clients.
“Once foreign tourists come here, we also plan to carry out these tours with our colleagues. Countries such as Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland are showing greater demand for these tours,” he said.
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Calling Iznik one of the most important places in the region, Balta said work would continue under the faith route project to bring more foreign tourists to the district.
“For this reason, we can call 2026 the year of Iznik,” he said.
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