New Delhi:
Hundreds of Indian tourists are now canceling their visits to Turkey and Azerbaijan as these countries supported Pakistan in a conflict with India after the massacre of 26 tourists in Pahgam, Kashmir by Islamabad -backed militants.
The leading online travel booking platforms makemiTrip and Easemytrip have reported a sharp decline among Indian tourists wishing to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan due to their anti -India stand during Operation Sindoor.
“Indian travelers have expressed strong sentiments in the last one week, a 60 percent decrease in booking for Azerbaijan and Turkey, while the cancellation has increased by 250 percent during the same period,” McMitrip said in a statement on Wednesday, “Indian travelers have expressed strong sentiments in the last one week.
While the forum has not offered flight booking to Turkey and Azerbaijan on its website, Mekmiterip said, “It stands in solidarity with our nation and is out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this feeling and advise all the non-essential travels for Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
Easemytrip founder and former president Nishant Pitti said that the company’s portal has canceled 22 percent trips for Turkey by tourists and is canceling Azerbaijan more than 30 percent.
He urged the passengers to avoid visiting Türkiye and Azerbaijan due to open support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
Pitti also referred to the issue of celebrities supporting Chinese products and Chinese -owned websites, and highlighted the need for national interests to ensure personal gains or convenience.
“Valid questions – What about websites owned by Chinese firms? What about celebs promoting Chinese products? Answer lies in our choice. Stop using such sites. Boys those supports.
Pitti also said that the forum has chosen to cancel or boycott existing booking to avoid widespread inconvenience, as many travelers use Turkey only as a lowover.
Boycott by Indian tourists is expected to have significant impact on the economies of both countries.
According to the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, 243,589 Indian tourists visited the country in 2024. The tourism board is expected to increase by 11 percent for the next 10 years. Turkey witnessed Indian arrival on 3,30,000 passengers in 2024, while the number was 119,503 in 2014 in 2014 according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2014.
The estimated cost per Indian tourism in Türkiye is $ 1,200–1,500, in 2023, the total estimated Indian tourist spending in Türkiye works up to $ 350–400 million (about Rs 3,000 crore).
Türkiye is a country that is highly dependent on tourism, contributing 12 percent of the country’s GDP in this sector. The tourist sector is 10 percent of the total employment in the country. India is one of the fastest growing source markets of Türkiye.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
