Indians are calling off planned vacations to popular resorts in Turkey and Azerbaijan after both countries backed Pakistan during its recent conflict with New Delhi, according to two travel booking companies.
Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir last month that New Delhi said was backed by Islamabad.
Pakistan denied involvement, but intense fighting broke out when India struck what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) last week. They agreed a ceasefire on Saturday, which has largely held.
Turkey and Azerbaijan, popular budget holiday destinations for Indians, issued statements backing Islamabad after India’s strikes.
Bookings Fall
“Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60% (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period,” a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip said.
EaseMyTrip’s Chief Executive Officer, Rikant Pittie, said the platform had seen a 22% rise in cancellations for Turkey and 30% for Azerbaijan “due to recent geopolitical tensions”.
Travellers had switched to Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand and Vietnam, he added.
Another ticketing platform, ixigo, earlier said in a post on X, that it would be suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan and China.
EaseMyTrip’s founder and chairman, Nishant Pitti, said in a post on X that 287,000 Indians visited Turkey last year and 243,000 visited Azerbaijan.
“When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?” Pitti said.
Nationwide Outrage
Turkey and Azerbaijan’s open support for Pakistan during its recent military confrontation with India has sparked widespread outrage across India.
The clash, which escalated tensions between the two South Asian rivals, drew international attention, and the diplomatic stances taken by Ankara and Baku did not sit well with the Indian public.
Indian social media platforms erupted with criticism, with hashtags calling for a boycott of Turkish and Azerbaijani products and travel trending nationwide.
This backlash is particularly significant given the growing popularity of Turkey and Azerbaijan as tourist destinations for Indian travellers in recent years.
Many Indians perceive the support for Pakistan as a direct affront to national sentiment.
The diplomatic fallout from this conflict is now having tangible effects on people-to-people ties and economic interactions, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
(With inputs from Reuters)
