Contradictory Season in Muğla Tourism: Hotels Are Filling, Profitability Is Disappearing!
While occupancy rates are rising with the summer season in Muğla's tourism centers, sector representatives state that businesses are not achieving the expected profit due to increasing costs and low exchange rates. The common problem of the sector, from Marmaris to Bodrum, from Fethiye to Dalaman, is the same: There is activity, but no profitability.
With the entry into the busiest period of the summer season, tourism activity throughout Muğla has accelerated again. While occupancy rates are increasing in many destinations including Marmaris, Bodrum, Fethiye, and Dalaman, sector representatives express that this activity does not economically meet expectations.
Occupancy at 80 Percent in Marmaris
Mustafa Deliveli, Former President of the Southern Aegean Touristic Hoteliers Association (GETOB) and CEO of Emre Hotels, stated that the short-term stagnation experienced after the Eid al-Adha in Marmaris ended with the summer vacation.
Deliveli noted that occupancy rates in hotels in the district have reached around 80 percent again, and they expect July and August to be close to last year’s levels.
However, according to Deliveli, the biggest problem of the sector is no longer finding customers; it is preserving profitability due to rising operating costs, exchange rate-inflation imbalance, and constant discount pressure.
"Competing destinations like Egypt stand out with low-cost advantages. If the exchange rate lags behind inflation and cost pressures continue, it is inevitable that the sector will face greater difficulties in the coming years," Deliveli stated, emphasizing that tourism will find it hard to breathe easily without economic balance.
Muğla's Common Problem: There Is Occupancy, But No Profit
Similar evaluations also came from the Bodrum and Dalaman regions. Yiğit Girgin, Bodrum Representative of the Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD), said that occupancies have increased but have not yet reached the 100 percent levels of previous years.
Yücel Okutur, President of the Dalaman Ortaca Köyceğiz Hoteliers and Touristic Enterprises Association (DOKTOB), stated that hotels are forced to make significant discounts due to high input costs and expressed that profitability in the sector has dropped to very low levels.
Representatives of the tourism sector evaluate the 2026 season as a year of survival and expect permanent recovery to take place in upcoming seasons with improvements in economic conditions.
