Can you describe the business processes of your operation?

In our Gazipaşa operation; we serve our international and domestic transfer passengers every day for 12 months with two stores in total, departure (255m2) and arrival (83m2). Our boutique airport experiences high season between May and September. Although the passenger volume is low, the business processes at Gazipaşa are identical to the operations in Turkey. The most critical aspect of our operation is to fully fulfill our company's representation and legal responsibilities towards TAV Operations, Local Administrative Authority and the Customs Directorate. In addition to this, it is indispensable for our business to be able to touch the needs and increase the satisfaction of our employees by ensuring their development through trainings and feeding them with feedbacks, as well as our commercial activities where we focus on customer satisfaction. The number of seasonal employees and their contributions in seasonal operations is a process that needs to be re-designed every year, and we manage this process in coordination with our human resources manager, our TLYs and internal trainers in the field, and our administrative department managers behind the scenes. Our Ankara and Bodrum operations in the categories of IT, CCTV, Logistics, HR, Warehouse regularly support our operation where each permanent employee has a different hat.

Who are you in contact with?

TAV Management as the airport authority, Customs Directorate and Department, Local Administrative Authority are our partners with whom we are in constant communication. In addition, we are in contact with the leaders of all departments in Vadistanbul and Turkey Operations Directors / Managers on commercial - administrative issues. We continue to develop our commercial activities by taking other regional practices as reference.

I guess you have encountered many different events and situations operationally so far. What was the most interesting situation you encountered? How did you resolve it?

In my 23-year journey at ATU, I have experienced many interesting and difficult processes that made us say "This happened too?", but the most unknown and difficult to manage was the pandemic period we experienced. As someone who has not taken more than 10 days off at a time for many years, staying at home for 2-3 months because the operation stopped was a pessimistic situation for all of us. However, it was also very difficult to keep the operation afloat due to the cases we experienced during the periods when the operation continued. I would like to thank my entire team again for their selfless support during the pandemic.

How have there been recent changes in customer shopping habits and product-category based?

The two main customer profiles of our operation are Scandinavians and Russians. Although the shopping cultures of both nationalities are very different, it is very important for us that they complement each other. Without Scandinavians, the balance in the LTC (Liqueur, Tobacco, Confectionary) and PK (Perfume, Cosmetics) categories is immediately disrupted. Scandinavians continue to make a significant contribution to both passenger numbers and revenue per receipt compared to 2022. Our Russian profile is a bit behind due to the country's war economy. But our biggest advantage is that they can only buy many brands and products from us due to the embargoes imposed on Russia.

Our Gazipaşa operation celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Could you tell us about the development of the Gazipaşa operation since its establishment? What are your expectations for the new period?

Our operation opened in 2013 with a 35m2 department store. With the latest expansion in 2016, it continues to serve in two stores with a total area of 338m2. Gazipaşa is one of the most pristine tourism destinations on the Mediterranean coastline and our airport is just a few kilometers away from the city center, the coastline. Additionally, we are also very close to Alanya, Side, Manavgat tourism centers. As we are a boutique airport, our passengers can carry out their transactions very quickly and easily. This contributes to us being preferred more and more every year. This year we are hosting guests from 11 different countries and 12 different cities. In 2019, we broke an all-time record with 600,000 international passengers arriving and departing. We aim to achieve this figure in 2024 again. Our operation has an operating period until 2036 and we are making all our plans for the next 13 years. Branded hotel constructions will start in Gazipaşa in the near future and TAV Operations has started to prepare for the future with the terminal expansion project. We are starting to prepare our ATÜ Gazipaşa operation for the future with our new, sustainable concept store of 430m2 on the departure side.

Which countries do the most shoppers in your operation come from?

Scandinavians have preferred Alanya since the early 2000s. This is very important for us because the countries with the highest GDP are located in this geography. In the bottom detail; Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark are the destinations where we make the most turnover.

How many years have you been working at ATU? What did you gain from being a part of this structure?

I took part in the establishment of ATU. I was one of the lucky ones in the first sales force of the wine & cigar stores. I also took part in the first establishment teams of the international operations. For many years at Atatürk Airport, I played different roles in the sales operations of LTC (Liqueur, Tobacco, Confectionary) and ACC (Accessories) categories. In the travel retail sector, I have experienced every process related to people and product, from organization building to commercial activities. I continue to learn, transfer my experiences and train new leaders.

How many people does your team consist of? Can you tell us a little about your team?

This season, our operation consists of 32 people in total, including 3 administrative staff and 29 sales operation staff. During the winter season, we will have 16 people due to the reduced number of flights.

Which department or sector would you like to work in if you were not in this position?

If I were in this sector, I would still want to be in sales operations. Because I have been used to working in the field at a high tempo for years, experiencing the pleasure of making sales, being on the sidelines, managing a team, setting strategies and achieving targets. If it wasn't for my life journey at ATU, I would have liked to be a pilot.