A joint venture between TAV Airports and Unifree Duty Free/Gebr. Heinemann, ATU Duty Free opens doors at Salalah, the second largest city of Oman. ATU Duty Free began providing services to the passengers with a 727 sqm duty free shop located on the departure floor and another 117 sqm duty free store on the arrival floor within Salalah Airport. Furthermore, the company will operate food&beverage areas at the terminal.
ATU Duty Free General Manager Ersan Arcan stated, "Salalah is an important port in the Middle East with a planned 6 million passenger capacity. The rapid increase in the number of passengers strengthened our belief in the potential of the market in Oman. Last year we have successfully bid for the management and operation of duty free, retail and food & beverage areas at Salalah Airport. We have also transferred the know-how of BTA, to this project."
Highlighting ATU’s capability to do business worldwide, Arcan added: "Over the last year we are delighted to have been chosen as the preferred business partner in a number of locations worldwide. We are especially pleased to be the preferred partner of OAMC, the management company of Oman Airports who have trusted us to deliver something quite unique at Salalah Airport.
“We celebrate our opening with them and would like to take this opportunity to give our thanks for all the support and dedication of the Umman team. Our aim is to take customer satisfaction to the highest level possible by offering top quality products of prestigious brands at a competitive cost. Thanks to our strong supply chain and highly professional logistics organization, we can provide brand diversity and product stability concurrently."
Headquartered in Istanbul, ATU Duty Free has duty free stores at Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Gazipaşa airports in Turkey; Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi airports in Georgia; Tunis‐Carthage, Djerba‐Zarzis, Sfax‐Thyna, Tozeur‐Nefta, Tabarka‐Ain Draham, Enfidha and Monastir airports in Tunisia; Skopje and Ohrid airports in Macedonia; and Riga Airport in Latvia.
Hosting around 842,000 passengers in 2014, Salalah Airport’s expansion is part of a strategic aim to further develop Salalah as a tourist destination. Located 1,000 km south of Muscat, and with a much cooler climate during the summer months, it is described as an attraction center for tourists.
