Official Hotel and Venue of the 2012 EWBC
The Swissôtel Grand Efes, is a five-star deluxe hotel located in the heart of the Izmir overlooking the spectacular Kordon Promenade, on Turkey’s Aegean Sea. We have negotiated discounted rates with the hotel that will be announced in the very near future.

How to Get to Izmir
Pegasus Airlines has generously provided all participants with a 30% discount for roundtrip tickets on Pegasus Airlines. However, because this will be a group booking, there will ONLY be a 15 day window in June where all participants must book their tickets in order to receive the discount. We will announce more information as the date draws near.

How to Get to Izmir Center 
The easiest way into the city from Izmir airport is by the Havas airport shuttle bus (every 20 minutes, 35 to 60 minutes) from the Turkish Airlines office.

Taxis are also available at the airport. Bargain to get the best fare, if you don’t haggle over the price you may get taken advantage of. Fares go up after midnight to 6am. Check Rates here

Official Language of the Conference
The official language of the EWBC is English; however, we have several language ambassadors at your disposal if you should need aid.

Visas
All participants are advised to check with the Turkish Consular Missions (where available) for visa requirements. Please check Ministry of Foreign Affairs website about visa requirements details.

Business Working Hours
Banks are open weekdays from 8:30 until noon (or 12:30), depending on the bank, and from 13:30 until 17:00. However, there are some banks which continue to serve during lunch breaks.

Museums are generally open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 until 17:00 (or 17:30) and closed on Monday.
Shops and bazaars are normally open from Monday to Saturday from 9:30 to 20:00 and closed all day on Sundays. But shopping malls and stores on crowded streets are open seven days a week, including lunch breaks. You can find restaurants or cafes open virtually at any time of the day or night.

Weekend Holidays
In Turkey, Saturday and Sunday are weekend holiday. Therefore, official institutions and banks are closed.

Currency and Exchange
The monetary unit in Turkey is the Turkish Lira (TL), which comes in bank notes of 5 TL; 10 TL; 20 TL; 50 TL; 100 TL and 200 TL. Smaller denominations will come in coins of 1 TL; 50 Kr; 25 Kr; 10 Kr; 5 Kr; and 1 Kr.” Kr. stands for “Kuru?”. 100 Kuru? is worth 1 Turkish Lira.

The most recent exchange rate values may be accessed at the website of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. Convertible foreign currency can be exchanged at the airport, hotels and exchange offices as well as at all banks in accordance with the daily announced exchange rates at that time.

Most accept international credit cards or bank cards (a strip of logos is usually displayed above the ATM). Almost all ATMs have a language key to enable you to read the instructions in English.

VAT & Service Charges
Value-added tax, here called KDV, is 18%. Value-added tax is usually included in quoted prices. Certain shops are authorized to refund the tax.

Electricity Supply
The electrical current in Turkey is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current (AC). Wall outlets take Continental-style plugs with two round prongs.

Communication
Turkey has a highly sophisticated communication system. In addition to the usual postal and telephone services, GSM telephones can be used through international roaming agreements. Please contact your GSM Operator for more information. It is possible to use most cellular phones in Turkey. Public telephones have two different systems. Some of them work with cards while others work with tokens. They are both sold in post offices and tobacco shops. For international calls it is advisable to purchase cards. All over Turkey, phone numbers consists of two sections: area code with three digits and the number itself with 7 digits. Same area/city calls just the 7-digit number From area to area 0+area code-7-digit number International calls 0+0+country code + area code + number.