International Carpet & Flooring Expo (ICFE), the global gathering platform of the carpet industry, has opened its doors to visitors for the third time at the Istanbul Fair Center, bringing together trade, design and art. Organized by Tüyap Exhibitions Group in collaboration with the Southeastern Anatolia Carpet Exporters' Association (GAHİB) and the Istanbul Carpet Exporters' Association (İHİB), steers the industry's future path with record-breaking growth targets.
ICFE, which is considered the most prominent global platform of the carpet industry, has opened its doors to visitors and is taking place from January 6 to January 9, 2026. The fair, which is being held across 11 halls as part of its ambitious targets this year, stands out with increased demand from foreign participants and offers a greater market potential. With a strong base of exhibitors including both domestic and international industry actors, the organization reinforces its key position in the industry and its global prestige. We aim to facilitate business by bringing industry players together and enhance the industrial vision through design-focused events.
The Fair Will Increase the Industry's Trade Volume in Turkey!<
Bakan Bolat: "Türkiye is at the top of the global league in the carpet industry."
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fair, Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, the Minister of Trade, drew attention to Türkiye's global strength in the carpet industry, the Ministry's support to the industry, and the record-breaking export figures in the history of the Republic of Türkiye, and stated: "As the Ministry of Trade, we continue to provide strong support to the exhibitors by moving this fair to the category of prestigious fairs." As of today, Türkiye ranks second in the global carpet production and export. In addition to our well-established production centers such as Isparta, Hereke and Bünyan, Gaziantep has become a star city and a globally recognized brand thanks to its clustering model. We have left behind a year in which we broke the export record in the history of the Republic of Türkiye. As a country, we ended the year 2025 with $273.4 billion in merchandise exports, with the carpet industry accounting for $2.9 billion of the total national exports. We have reached a total foreign trade volume of $400 billion including exports in the services side. We will continue to support the textile and carpet industries, which are the crown jewels of our national industry, both through trade fair exhibition incentives and through employment and export incentives."
"The heart of the global carpet trade beats in Istanbul."
Emphasizing the size and global success the fair has achieved in only its third year, İlhan Ersözlü, General Manager of TÜYAP Fuarlar Yapım A.Ş. stated: "ICFE, which we brought to life by joining forces with the valuable representatives of our industry, GAHİB and İHİB, has quickly become one of the most important industrial gathering platforms in the world." This year, we have even more ambitious goals. We have an expanded fair area across 11 halls and are enjoying a record number of exhibitors. We are introducing Türkiye's manufacturing and design capabilities to the world in a strategic trade hub like Istanbul. The increase in demand from foreign exhibitors, in particular, and increased market diversity, demonstrate the fair's prestigious status in global landscape. With ICFE, we not only facilitate business, but also offer a platform that shapes the world of carpet fashion through design- and innovation-focused events. I wish all our exhibitors and visitors a successful fair."
Inspirational creativity events
Visitors are able explore various exhibitions showcasing the creative power of the industry during the fair. Exhibitors are displaying their newest collections in the design competition, and the designs that make it to the finals are exhibited in the fair area. Exhibitions presenting modern interpretations of traditional motifs and events bringing together industry professionals are also adding great value to the fair. Additionally, we have the "Carpet Talks" program which is structured around four main themes that shape the future of carpet design. These sessions offer a holistic perspective to the industry by addressing design methodologies, the link between handcrafted heritage and contemporary design, the role of design in branding processes, and the historical legacy of Hereke silk carpets.
The world's most unique carpet project.
The "My Work" workshop, which attracted great attention last year, is also included in the fair this year as well under the Carpet Workshop program. In this project, which involves 400 designers from Türkiye and many other countries around the world, the designers express their personal interpretations through original works. These pieces, each a work of art, will be combined during the fair to form "The Carpet Designed by the Highest Number of Designers." Bringing together 400 different stories and visions, this project transforms the fair from a mere trade platform into a vibrant design workshop.
Global exhibitor and visitor targets
ICFE takes its success to a global scale with extensive marketing activities in more than 80 countries across 6 continents. This year's targets for the fair include hosting nearly 500 exhibitors from 25 countries, particularly from China, Iran, Pakistan, India, USA, Belgium and France, as well as around 50,000 professional visitors from 105 countries. ICFE aims to maximize commercial potential, offering exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to establish new export-oriented business collaborations.
About TÜYAP: Tüyap was founded by Bülent Ünal in 1979 as the first fair organization company of Türkiye. Tüyap has led the development of fair organization sector in Türkiye, organizing numberless fairs at home and abroad in the past 47 years. At these fairs, it served more than 370 thousand companies from many countries and hosted more than 78 million visitors. Tüyap, which organizes regular specialized fairs with its 2 fair centers in Türkiye and its international offices in 6 countries, also makes long-term collaborations with more than 100 professional organizations with its highly qualified workforce. The company, which organized the first Turkish export products fairs in China, Russia and Africa, still organizes participation of Turkish companies in 10 foreign fairs every year on average. Tüyap, the only private sector fair organization company with its own fair center in Türkiye, continues to organize hybrid fairs by mobilizing its digital resources.
You can follow Tüyap Exhibitions Group on social media. Instagram: @tuyapfuarcilik LinkedIn: /tuyapfuarcilik For information, contact: Günay Akhundzada / ÜNİTE Edelman (541) 947 27 92 [email protected]; www.unite.com.tr