4 hours ago
Last Updated:May 14, 2025, 13:03 IST
Finance Ministry sources suggest that India will cut trade ties with Turkey as it cannot negotiate with anyone who supports a terror state
Mohamed Muizzu must be reliving his past seeing the boycott call now faced by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (PTI)
It is almost a Déjà vu moment for India’s tourism sector. Remember January 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s casual walk on the white beach and dives into the blue water of Lakshadweep—a tropical archipelago of 36 atolls and coral reefs in the Lakshadweep Sea, off the coast of Kerala—made leaders of Maldives break into a knee-jerk reaction, resorting to even racial slurs against Indians? Indians called for Maldives’ boycott and the rest, they say, is history.
Platforms like EaseMyTrip de-platformed flights and accommodations of Maldives and there was a name-and-shame campaign online for anyone who chose to still visit Maldives. Cancellations spiralled. In a tourist spot where Indians constitute a major market, with over 2.91 lakh and 2.41 lakh Indian tourist arrivals in 2021 and 2022 during the peak of Covid-19, Maldives got a rude shock. It took a lot of backchannel cajoling at the highest level for India to finally consider going back to business as normal. But, in between, Maldives’ economy sunk.
The reason for the prelude is that the world may very well experience a similar moment—This time in Turkey. Turkey chose to side with Pakistan and supply it with arms and ammunition in its conflict with India, back-stabbing India which extended help after the recent earthquake. Like Turkey, the new government in Maldives led by Muizzu too was earlier perceived to be against India’s national interest and courting China.
Indians lost no time in asking for a complete boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan—the two countries that extended their support to Pakistan. But since the central Asian nation is yet not that popular as Turkey is, ‘Boycott Turkey’ started to trend nationally. Unlike in Maldives, Turkey touched a raw nerve—Pakistan. So, senior Indian politicians, including opposition faces who wouldn’t leave a chance to corner PM Narendra Modi, jumped in to attack Turkey. Former Union minister and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla asked to “immediately stop" Indians’ destination weddings in Turkey. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (Uddhav) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called vacationing in Turkey “blood money".
No Türkiye, Indians won’t come spending money on tourism in a country that uses the same to arm Pakistan. Look for your tourists elsewhere, our money ain’t blood money. pic.twitter.com/m9t8xxxbcw— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 13, 2025
In 2023, nearly 2.75 lakh Indian tourists visited Turkey, and the number rose by over 20 per cent to 3.25 lakh in 2024.
Platforms like Ixigo & EaseMyTrip pulled the plug on Turkey bookings. The ire is not just restricted to tourism, but slowly turning to produce as well. Turkish apples have suddenly vanished from markets after Indian traders switched their loyalties to Iran, Washington, and New Zealand to cater to those who prefer international qualities.
“We used to sell 1,000 boxes of apples for retailers previously. But that has rapidly decreased. We were wondering why. When we asked the retailers, they said the customers were not buying Turkish apples anymore," said an apple wholesaler.
The apple growers’ association, who anyway believe the market has been hit hard by imported apples, have now said Turkish apples should be banned. Turkish apples are extremely popular and of high quality and enjoy a 6-8 per cent share in the market of the total imported varieties. Around 1,60,000 tonnes of apples were imported from Turkey this fiscal year.
Finance ministry sources say Turkey needs India more—for pulses, oil seeds, steel—than the other way around. India had planned to increase trade with Turkey up to $20 Billion. However, with changed realities, sources in the finance ministry suggest that India will cut trade ties with Turkey as it cannot negotiate with anyone who supports a terror state.
“Turkey has blood on its hands," said the source, adding that it is up to people to decide if they want to visit it for travel. “There is no advisory from the government to tour operators. We leave it to them. What we gather, most travel platforms have seen a fall in bookings to that sector."
Rattled, Ankara’s Department of Tourism released a statement, stating the India-Pakistan ‘conflict’ has no bearing on tourism there, stressing that “Indian travellers are welcomed and treated with utmost courtesy across Türkiye—in hotels, restaurants, shops, and all tourist attractions—just as they have always been."
But if government sources are to be believed, India is not buying it.
Mohamed Muizzu must be reliving his past seeing the boycott call now faced by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Location : First Published:News india Treacherous Turkey: As India Mulls Boycott, Why Erdogan May Be Reduced To Maldives’ Muizzu
