The international trade fair’s World of Toys Pavilion featured 18 overseas exhibitors despite challenges. 

From 4th – 7th October, Kids Turkey, the region’s biggest trade fair for toys, took place under the shadow of the challenging economic and political climate in Turkey. The crisis is having a negative impact on the local toy market, which is in the grip of increasingly restrictive administrative requirements for customs and product certification. As a result, the choice of products on show at Kids Turkey was limited.

Despite this, 117 exhibitors from five countries travelled to Istanbul to present their products to trade buyers.

Hüseyin Akcicek from the Turkish company Akcicek Toys, which was exhibiting at the fair for the eleventh time, commented: “Every year, the fair enables us to forge new business contacts. We welcomed visitors from the Middle East, the Balkans, Caucasus and the Far East.”

The World of Toys Pavilion was featured at Kids Turkey for the fifth time. 18 exhibitors from China, Germany, Georgia and Russia presented their latest products at the 190m2 pavilion.

However, despite the fair’s smooth organisation, circumstances dictated that only 75% of exhibitors’ expectations were met.

Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, noted: “The economic and political situation in Turkey made it impossible to achieve a better outcome for Kids Turkey. All in all, this result still deserves a show of respect for the achievements managed by our Turkish subsidiary.”