Indian travellers are cancelling trips to Turkiye and Azerbaijan in large numbers after both countries voiced support for Pakistan during its response to Indian conflict, travel platforms confirmed this week.
“Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkiye are down by 60% over the last week, while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period,” a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip, one of India’s largest travel booking platforms, told Reuters.
EaseMyTrip CEO Rikant Pittie echoed the trend, noting a 22% rise in cancellations for Turkiye and 30% for Azerbaijan due to “recent geopolitical tensions.” He said travellers were now shifting preferences to destinations like Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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Request ccgeeks to unite.
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Another Indian platform, ixigo, announced via a post on X that it would suspend flight and hotel bookings for Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and China in light of their stance.
EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti also weighed in, posting on X: “287,000 Indians visited Turkiye last year and 43,000 visited Azerbaijan. When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?”
•Over 2.87 lakh Indian tourists visited Turkey last year (2023)
— Nishant Pitti (@nishantpitti) May 14, 2025
•This is up from 2.3 lakh in 2022 — a growth of over 25% YoY
•Estimated spend per Indian tourist in Turkey: $1,200–1,500
•Total estimated Indian tourist spend in Turkey (2023): $350–400 million USD (~₹3,000… https://t.co/Hn0ZXGNvS2
During last week's Pakistan and India conflict, Turkiye and Azerbaijan, both popular and affordable holiday destinations for Indian tourists, issued public statements supporting Pakistan.
Azerbaijan has announced full support for Pakistan and expressed strong solidarity with its government and people. In a formal letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Azerbaijani government voiced concern over the current situation and condemned the recent actions of the Indian military.
Read More: 40 civilians, 11 troops martyred in Indian aggression: ISPR
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also expressed his support and solidarity with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after India hit Pakistan with missiles. During the call, Erdogan told PM Shehbaz that Turkiye supported what he called Pakistan’s “calm and restrained policies” in the crisis.
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