With Turkey and Azerbaijan facing a backlash in India over their support for Pakistan during the military confrontation following the Pahalgam terror attack, travel booking portals are reporting a notable drop in bookings from Indians for these countries — and a jump in cancellations. Some Indian travel service providers have also stopped offering flight and hotel bookings for the two countries, while a few others are dissuading Indians from travelling there.
Turkey and Azerbaijan are popular destinations for Indians with the number of travellers and direct flight connections growing in recent years. Istanbul is also a major aviation hub used by Indian flyers to connect to destinations beyond Turkey as well. Now, given the growing clamour to boycott these countries, the situation is reminiscent of the calls for boycott of Maldives in January 2024 when a diplomatic row erupted following derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian deputy ministers.
“Indian travellers have expressed strong sentiments over the past one week, with bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60 per cent, while cancellations have surged by 250 per cent during the same period. In solidarity with our nation and out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this sentiment and advise all against all non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey. We have already discontinued all promotions and offers on our platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations,” a spokesperson for online travel booking service provider MakeMyTrip said on Wednesday, without elaborating further on the data.
Another online travel agency, EaseMyTrip, said it is seeing high cancellation rates of bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey. EaseMyTrip has already seen 22 per cent of bookings for Turkey cancelled over the past week, and 30 per cent for Azerbaijan.
“In view of the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22…and war-like situations between India and Pakistan, it is disheartening to note that Turkey and Azerbaijan have extended their support to Pakistan. EaseMyTrip strongly advise limiting travel to these countries unless absolutely essential. Please stay updated on current developments and exercise caution while making travel plans,” EaseMyTrip had said in a travel advisory Friday.
“…Indian tourists have high spending power, making them key contributors to foreign economies. By consciously redirecting tourism flow, we reduce economic support to countries taking anti-India positions. India’s own tourism industry can benefit by retaining this spend within the country or redirecting it to nations aligned with Indian interests,” EaseMyTrip’s Founder and Chairman Nishant Pitti said in a social media post Wednesday.
Meanwhile, travel booking service providers, such as Ixigo and Cox & Kings, have suspended new bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan. “This decision is driven by our commitment to uphold principles that matter deeply to us and the people of our country. We also advise Indian travellers to exercise discretion and avoid any non-essential travel to these destinations until there is greater clarity and alignment in the broader geopolitical environment,” Cox & Kings director Karan Agarwal had said Friday.
In a post on X Friday, Ixigo announced: “In solidarity with our nation, ixigo is suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan, and China. Because when it comes to Bharat, we don’t think twice. Jai Hind.”
Travomint has suspended all ticket sales for airlines of the two countries — Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Corendon Airlines and Azerbaijan Airlines, as of last Saturday. “This decision is final and will remain unchanged regardless of any future developments. Going forward, Travomint will not engage in any partnerships with entities from these countries,” said a statement from the portal.
Ravi Gosain, who heads Indian Association of Tour Operators, said 15-20 per cent of bookings taken by member operators for the two countries have been cancelled. Delhi-based Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has advocated a travel boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan, adding that it will coordinate with travel and tour operators, and other stakeholders on the issue.
According to data from Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 3.31 lakh Indian nationals visited Turkey in 2024, higher by almost 21 per cent over 2023 when 2.74 lakh Indians visited Turkey. In 2022, the number of Indian nationals who visited Turkey stood at 2.32 lakh. In fact, India was among the top 20 source markets for Turkey, as per officials in the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi — and data from the first three months of 2025 showed it would have crossed that mark in this year.
Embassy officials had said they were enhancing marketing efforts, promotional activities, and collaborations for continued momentum in tourism growth, even betting on wedding tourism and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector.
As for Azerbaijan, the number of Indians visiting the country more than doubled to 2.44 lakh in 2024 from 1.17 lakh in 2023, according to data from Azerbaijan Tourism Board, which describes India as a “key target market”. Data shows Indians are among the top five nationalities visiting Azerbaijan. In 2022, Azerbaijan had 60,731 Indian visitors, a sharp spike from 4,853 in 2014.
Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows 5.05 lakh passengers flew on direct flights from India to Turkey in 2024, up almost 15 per cent over 2023. The number of passengers who flew direct from India to Azerbaijan shot up to 80,567 in 2024 from 28,899 in 2023 as additional flights began operations. The data includes flyers of other nationalities as well.
According to online visa processing firm Atyls, for summer 2025, they had registered a rise of first-time international travellers from India gravitating towards destinations like Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Azerbaijan, which had begun streamlined visa procedures. MakeMyTrip had slotted Turkey and Azerbaijan among the top 20 international destinations searched for the upcoming holiday season.
Embassy officials had said they were enhancing marketing efforts, promotional activities, and collaborations for continued momentum in tourism growth, even betting on wedding tourism and the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector.
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