The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt paid a recent visit to one of Europe’s most exciting travel retail destinations, Antalya International Airport, to discover a story of growth, investment, quality and high-spending travellers. We present a three-part review of that visit in words, images and video. In this instalment, we profile the duty-free offer with comment from ATÜ Duty Free President and CEO Ersan Arcan. Interviews with Fraport-TAV General Manager Dr Frank Quante and BTA Food and Services Group CEO Baha Bülbül will follow.
TÜRKIYE. “Alongside our Istanbul Airport fashion & accessories business, this is our anchor operation.”
That’s how ATÜ Duty Free President and CEO Ersan Arcan underlines the importance of Antalya International Airport to the company – a subsidiary of TAV Airports and Unifree Duty Free/Gebr. Heinemann – since it began trading in April 2025.
Today, a vast 12,000sq m arena in the new-look Terminal 2 includes a 5,000sq m main complex in departures and spans all the major core categories from an expansive and elegant beauty zone to a well-ranged spirits & tobacco area to a highly contributive destination merchandise space, alongside an almost complete luxury section. There, boutiques include Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ferragamo and a store for luxury timepieces, with more to open very soon.
Click above for part one of our video interview with ATÜ Duty Free President and CEO Ersan Arcan; parts two and three can be found below.
Arcan says: “We are still accomplishing this project. It is a large, spacious and welcoming building. It has been intelligently and strategically built for 90-100,000 visitors a day so they can comfortably enjoy the experience.”
With seasonality a key factor, and even the wide departures spaces under stress at peak summer times, he highlights the “dynamic and complex” nature of the operation and pays tribute to the team on the ground for managing the peaks and varying flows across the year.
Few airport duty-free environments anywhere run as wide or as deep as Antalya T2.
One enters the commercial zone after a welcomingly large post-security decompression area that also presents wifi options and gate signage.
This leads to a vast, curvy walkway that is designed so the traveller sees all routes ahead. Tobacco, the number one category by sales and a key in-store destination for UK and German visitors among others, is visible from the beginning, as is the large spirits zone, which sits next to the destination assortment.
“In spirits we have such a variety of nationalities that we need a good diversity of offer,” says Arcan. “In destination, both in the main store and in our Old Bazaar concept, we aim for quality. We try to propose the best brand in the country under each category. Not less than 17% of sales in the store come from local products.
“An example is the popularity of pomegranate, which implies health benefits and is popular with all nationalities. If people find it as an ingredient in candies or other products it flies off the shelves.”
Click above for part two of our video interview with ATÜ Duty Free President and CEO Ersan Arcan
Arcan notes that the drive to promote the region is not all about the commercial outcome. “Part of our role is to invest in local heritage and production. Most visitors are here for tourism and they want to see products from the region. We work with local artisans to contribute to their business. The share of sales from this business can go much higher.”
To the left of the main walkway through the store lies beauty, with impressive back wall installations for the hero brands visible at a glance, a high-class representation of niche fragrances alongside well-positioned promotional spaces.
Arcan says, “We are currently improving the spread of beauty so it is balanced and visible across the store, and mirroring some of the main beauty offer on the other side.
“Beauty has always been very important within our mix, and especially so now in Antalya. We have many Russian, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Turkish travellers and they show a lot of interest in these assortments.”
Arcan says: “The brand variety is incredible here but people are asking for it. The volume and diversity of brands, and how they are exposed, is at a different level here compared to our other locations.
“We place the axis brands together, we have high energy in this area and we also work hard to expand cross-category selling across perfumes, skincare and makeup.”
Click above for part three of our video interview with ATÜ Duty Free President and CEO Ersan Arcan
A key element to note is the multi-category spend from this vast duty-free space, even with categories that are an 80-metre walk apart.
“The average is three categories per basket,” says Arcan. “Selling across the categories and also up-selling is important, which speaks to the strength of our team and to the appeal across different nationalities and different profiles.
“Many people visit six to seven categories in the store, assisted by our professional staff who are expected to support them with all the available offers. We are active on strategically locating special products, or exposing one category within another, reminding people that there are other deals available.
“Brands recognise this and want to be in Antalya; they spare some budget to be present here. And that helps make the shop even more varied and beautiful.”
Through the many tills at the end of the main store lies a modern twist on ATÜ Duty Free’s Old Bazaar destination store, pioneered originally around a quarter-century ago at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, then updated successfully for the current Istanbul Airport.
Arcan says: “We play on the footfall coming from the main store plus the main walkway, and destination is a category we understand very well. We will make some finishing touches to ceiling designs and lighting so ensure it carries a true destination feel.”
From here the traveller has full visibility and easy access to the Antalya version of Luxury Square, a multi-category, open layout concept pioneered by the JV partners in Istanbul. It features an eclectic mix of established and up-and-coming on-trend brands across fashion & accessories, from ready-to-wear to an impressively wide sneakers range.
Arcan says: “Even as the space continues to come together sales per square metre are not far off Istanbul Airport performance so we are happy. The space will evolve with new boutiques yet to open.” Recent stand-alone store additions include Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ferragamo and a luxury timepieces store, with more opening shortly. Longchamp and Swarovski are among the other prominent stores in this well-trafficked zone.
Arcan says: “This space is no less premium than any department store you would see anywhere. Our offer is custom-made for the Antalya audience (with strong spends from Russian and Turkish guests in particular) across fashion; it is not what you see in Istanbul or other regional destinations. Many of the brands can see what we have done with quality and reliability in Istanbul and want to come to Antalya.
“And the blend of luxury to high luxury, sunglasses to sneakers and some trendy Turkish brands mixed with international all brings surprise to people as they emerge from core duty-free. And this appeals to all profiles and interests of the audiences we meet here throughout the year.”
Among the early takeaways from the environment – even as the space matures post-investment – is the clear directional signage and the visibility from one end of the store to another, crucial in such a wide space; the critical role of tobacco, P&C and destination; the importance of families and children in the passenger mix and to overall spends; plus the incremental value offered by the strong lounge offer, with ATÜ Duty Free present with an edited offer in the mezzanine hospitality area.
And yet more space will come into play as part of a further terminal expansion in the year ahead. That spells opportunity but also complexity amid the busiest periods.
Arcan says, “So far we can manage queues well with our many tills and aim in busy times to have no more than three people waiting, though it is challenging.
“We also see people returning to the stores and browsing if time allows, plus we have large gate stores that remind them they can still enjoy the experience there.”
Summarising the way business has unfolded to date, Arcan says: “We have 20-plus stores in a complex environment, but with the support and collaboration of Fraport-TAV, we feel at home and are partnering in a marvellous way.
“Some of the big brands are coming with their final designs and by the peak season we will be mostly complete. Then across in T1, which is seasonal, we would like to build a new concept to the same quality and standards as in T2.”
We close by returning to Antalya’s status within the world of ATÜ Duty Free.
Arcan says: “We have managed business at many important airports in the past as well as now. Antalya is a very important location, not only for duty free but as one of the top three airports in Europe during the summer season.”
“As a group (including Gebr. Heinemann and Unifree Duty Free) we are using our muscles in places we are strong, both in luxury in Istanbul and across all categories in Antalya.” ✈
