As the countdown to the 5th edition of Landscape Istanbul Fair (LIF 2026), taking place from October 7 to 10, 2026 at the Istanbul Fair Center (IFM), continues, the event also keeps attracting more exhibitors and suppliers eager to reach participants and buyers across Türkiye, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa.
Organizer Athena Fairs Inc. has continued to welcome more new international participants keen on joining the show, and among the newcomers are the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA) and Spain's IF Plants, two organizations that show how far the landscaping fair's reach and influence now goes across continents.
More New International Exhibitors Joining the Show
The Landscape Istanbul Fair, of LIF, has, and continues to enhance its reputation as a leading platform and meeting point for landscaping and horticultural professionals from across Türkiye, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, which is why the fair is drawing exhibitors from considerably farther afield.
The arrival of the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association and IF Plants suggests that suppliers well outside LIF's traditional catchment area now see Istanbul as a strategic point of entry, especially since the city is strategically located and has an extensive international transport network. Being new to the show, the two organizations join a lineup that already includes new and returning growers and suppliers from across Europe and the wider region.
The organizers, who have always indicated that the goal is to position LIF as the region's leading business event for landscaping and horticulture, stress that Istanbul's location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia is one of the main attractions for suppliers based outside the region. New exhibitors from farther afield boost this idea. Yet for organizations like TOGA and IF Plants, exhibiting in Istanbul offers a perfect point of contact with buyers across several unique markets, all at the same time.
Taiwan Orchid Growers Association Brings Years of Orchid Expertise
Founded in 2001, the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association (TOGA) is one of the most recognized orchid industries in the world, whose membership includes breeders, cultivators, exporters, and related trade partners working together to advance orchid breeding, strengthen supply chain coordination, and grow Taiwan's presence in overseas markets.
TOGA exhibits on stand 9E22 in Hall 9, a choice that gives regional buyers direct access to a segment of the ornamental plant trade that has historically been harder to source outside East Asia. For landscape contractors and garden centers seeking to diversify their orchid selections, the association's presence offers an opportunity to build relationships with Taiwanese growers face to face instead of through intermediaries.
Taiwan's orchid sector is known for its breeding programs and export infrastructure, and TOGA's membership highlights these, covering growers, cultivators, and exporters working in coordination. Bringing this whole network to Istanbul gives buyers from Türkiye, the Middle East, and Central Asia a more direct line to varieties that have mostly circulated within Asian and, perhaps, Western European markets until now.
IF Plants Connects International Buyers to Spanish Ornamental Production
IF Plants, founded in Barcelona in 2018, works through a network of trusted growers across Spain to simplify sourcing for international clients, centralizing procurement, quality control, and logistics, all through one point of contact. Its portfolio includes olive trees, palms, shrubs, specimen trees, and Mediterranean plant material selected to match the specific requirements of any project.
The organization already supplies wholesalers, garden centers, landscape contractors, municipalities, developers, and specialized importers in numerous markets. A spokesperson for IF Plants explained their role this way: "Our role is to help clients find the right plant, from the right grower, under the right conditions. We focus on understanding each customer's needs and coordinating the sourcing and export process efficiently, allowing buyers to access the Spanish market with confidence."
IF Plants, which exhibits on stand 9B12 in Hall 9, says their participation in the Istanbul fair shows their keenness on strengthening ties with plant professionals across Türkiye, the Middle East, and neighboring markets while showcasing the range and quality of Spanish ornamental production.
The World Urban Parks Symposium Returns With a Legacy Focus
Running alongside the fair once again is the World Urban Parks Symposium (WUP), which continues its long-standing partnership with LIF. Their partnership highlights how closely commercial horticulture and public urban greening now work together in redefining regional green spaces.
This year's Symposium takes ‘The Living Legacy’ as its theme, with speakers and delegates examining how the wisdom of past park design can inform the next generation of urban park leadership ideas. The program addresses six focus areas:
- Leadership and the next generation: Preparing new voices to guide the field
- Equity and democratic space: Examining equal parks for all communities
- Green infrastructure and climate: Reaffirming nature as an essential material in city design
- Advocacy and policy foundations: Making the case for parks in each political cycle
- Culture, community, and place: Exploring how parks help communities tell their story
- Youth, innovation, and new tools: Focusing on how younger generations reimagine public green space
And more information, including details on submitting a speaker abstract, is available through the World Urban Parks website. Notably, in 2025, the combined fair and Symposium brought together attendees from 54 countries, which is a number that the organizers expect to surpass this year.
Why LIF’s Growing International Participation Is Important
For buyers and specifiers, a growing roster of international exhibitors means more sourcing options all under one roof. Turkish and regional landscaping firms have traditionally relied on a mix of domestic nurseries and European suppliers, but the addition of exhibitors from regions like Taiwan and Spain points to an increase in what is available.
It also shows a wider pattern across the ornamental horticulture trade, where exporters are looking outside of their established markets toward regions with rising construction activity, urban development, and demand for climate-appropriate planting.
For Istanbul specifically, this pattern reinforces the city's position as a link between Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, a geographic advantage organizers have leaned on since the fair's first edition. The city’s strategic location gives the event a unique advantage when it comes to connecting buyers and suppliers from different markets.
This geographic reach, combined with the fair's focus on sustainability, innovation, and technology orientation, positions it as a platform where commercial trade and professional development complement each other. And with one in five square meters of exhibition space this year already held by first-time exhibitors ahead of October, those attending this edition should expect a noticeably wider mix of suppliers than in previous editions.
As Mustafa Gültekin Gökgül, CEO of Athena Fairs Inc., has previously noted, the mix of new companies exhibiting alongside legacy and market-leading growers ensures visitors can experience an even greater variety of innovative products and services. This diversity, in turn, supports the professional development of the region's landscaping and horticultural sectors, exposing local practitioners to international best practices and emerging technologies.
Attending Landscape Istanbul Fair 2026
Landscape Istanbul Fair 2026 and the World Urban Parks Symposium take place from October 7 to 10, 2026, at the Istanbul Fair Center (IFM) in Istanbul, Türkiye. Admission is free for qualified trade visitors, including landscape contractors, architects, urban planners, and horticultural wholesalers and distributors. More information is available at LandscapeIstanbulFair.com.
