Dalaman, long regarded as a traditional favourite for British tourists, is experiencing a marked decline as travellers increasingly shift their attention to Antalya. Industry figures suggest the trend will continue into the coming years. So, what is driving this shift?
Air service plans for 2026 show Dalaman continuing to lose momentum in its largest source market. Jet2’s recent launch of operations from Gatwick – offering flights only to Antalya and with just three weekly frequencies – is widely seen as an indicator of stagnation or decline for Türkiye overall in the eyes of UK carriers.
Engin Sertoğlu, Managing Director of UK-based Türkiye specialist Caria Holidays, spoke to Turizm Ekonomi, the sister portal of Türkiye Travel News, about the latest market dynamics.
“Hotels close UK sales during peak season”
Sertoğlu notes that while Dalaman (including Marmaris and Fethiye) is losing share, Antalya continues to gain ground in the UK market.
“Tour operators struggle to fill seats to Marmaris and Fethiye during the high season,” he said. “Other source markets push hard during peak months, and when those markets offer slightly higher rates, hoteliers impose ‘stop sale’ restrictions on the UK and open availability to others. In the end, the tour operators – who are also airlines – are not happy because they must fill those seats. Hoteliers are not wrong either; their seasons are short, and they sell to whoever offers the best price. But this dynamic pushes Dalaman further back in the UK market every year.”
“UK operators are reducing their Dalaman portfolios”
According to Sertoğlu, this supply squeeze is prompting British tour operators to shrink their Dalaman product range.
“Old-style apartment hotels in Marmaris have been converted into residential buildings as property values surged,” he explained. “Apartment rentals became unprofitable, so many owners either demolished them or converted them into apartment blocks. As a result, the product offering has tightened, and business has shifted to Antalya. For us as well, 80% of our Türkiye business now comes from Antalya.”
High food and beverage costs also a factor
Sertoğlu adds that rising restaurant and bar prices have also reduced demand for Dalaman.
“Guests staying at Antalya’s all-inclusive resorts pay a fixed amount and incur almost no extra costs. Türkiye has become expensive even for us—meals that cost £80 for two now cost £250. The same applies to tourists. Antalya is not a cheap destination either, but British travellers feel they get value for money from large all-inclusive hotels. In Marmaris, however, they cannot plan a holiday budget because eating out is extremely costly. This isn’t just a Marmaris issue—it’s the same across Türkiye. When the exchange rate doesn’t increase, purchasing power falls.”
“We no longer market apartments or 3- and 4-star all-inclusive hotels”
Caria Holidays has removed apartments and 3- and 4-star all inclusive hotels from its programme.
“Large agencies like Hays Travel also sell our products,” Sertoğlu noted. “This year we decided to stop selling apartments, 3-star and 4-star all inclusive hotels, B&B apartments, and self-catering units. After-sales problems were overwhelming. Service quality at 3- and 4-star all-inclusive hotels is extremely low. To keep costs down, some are practically serving tap water to guests. This leads to complaints. Whatever number of complaints we receive, TUI and Jet2 Holidays must be receiving a hundred thousand more.”
“The products you sell become a headache”
“When a customer files a complaint, we immediately send a £100 cheque just to keep the issue from escalating,” he said. “If it goes to the Consumer Arbitration Panel, our chance of winning is 1%. TUI and Jet2 Holidays do the same—first a voucher or promotional offer, and if that fails, they compensate with cash. The product becomes one thing; managing the headache becomes another.”
“Dalaman lacks enough quality hotels”
Sertoğlu argues that the short season in the Aegean limits hoteliers’ ability to reinvest, slowing improvement in accommodation quality.
“Large Antalya hotel groups are slowly expanding into the Aegean,” he said. “Barut, Akra, and Liberty have made high-standard investments, but the number is still too low. You cannot simply tell British tourists not to come in high season and come in low season instead. When hoteliers close sales to the UK in peak months, saying ‘the Jordanian or Lebanese markets are paying better’, it does not work. You can barely count ten five-star hotels in Marmaris, and those are focused on maximising earnings in a short season by selling to higher-paying markets.”
“Golfers travelling to Portugal spend more than those in Belek”
“Türkiye may appear expensive, but professional golfers travelling to Portugal spend more overall on accommodation and dining than they do in Belek. They may buy Portugal for £1,000 and Türkiye for £2,000, but in Portugal they easily spend another £1,000 on food and drink. So, they end up spending more there than in Belek. They are happy to come to Türkiye. The biggest competitive advantage Spain and Portugal have is lower flight costs.”
Commenting on Jet2’s expansion from Gatwick – with numerous planned routes to Spain and Greece but only three weekly flights to Antalya in Türkiye – Sertoğlu said:
“That clearly shows Jet2 has pushed Dalaman into the background. They are evidently struggling to sell it. They also want more aircraft rotations—shorter routes mean more flights. Flight time is another disadvantage.”
“Freebird exits the UK; SunExpress cuts capacity”
Assessing prospects for Türkiye in the UK in 2026, Sertoğlu said:
“There will be no growth for Türkiye in the UK market in 2026. Matching 2025 passenger numbers will already be an achievement. As is known, TUI no longer works with Freebird. Freebird operated scheduled services, but it has completely withdrawn from its UK operations. They tried hard to retain their Gatwick slots but failed.
We are now seeing problems in winter as well. SunExpress cancelled many frequencies after failing to meet expectations; winter capacity on the London–Antalya route has dropped significantly, affecting our golf bookings too.
Things are not rosy in the UK: inflation and declining disposable income are prompting Britons either to seek cheaper destinations or not travel at all.
For 2026, our aim is to keep turnover and profitability stable. Passenger numbers may fall… Selling Antalya boosts turnover but reduces passenger volume.”