Turkey, Azerbaijan Tourism To Trip As Travel Portals See Surge In Cancellations Amid Boycott Calls

Last Updated:May 14, 2025, 17:02 IST

MakeMyTrip (MMT), one of the biggest travel portals, has seen a 250% rise in cancellations, along with a 60% drop in bookings to Azerbaijan and Turkey during the past week

The two countries criticised India's strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. (News18)

As the chorus to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan for supporting Pakistan during the tension with India grows louder, travel portals are seeing a steep drop in bookings, with a surge in cancellations.

MakeMyTrip (MMT), one of the biggest travel portals, has seen a 250% rise in cancellations, along with a 60% drop in bookings to Azerbaijan and Turkey during the past week.

“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," said MMT spokesperson.

The two countries had criticised India’s strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on May 7. Islamabad also used Turkish drones in the conflict.

Three hashtags — #BoycottTurkey, #BoycottAzerbaijan and #BoycottTurkeyAzerjbaijan — were trending in India since Monday.

While many on X have been recommending travel to Greece or Armenia, others have responded with comments about tickets cancelled by them, their friends or relatives as a patriotic gesture.

Echoing the sentiment, Subhash Goyal, chairman of The Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Committee, the expert committee on aviation and tourism, stated that all tourism associations stand firmly with the nation and the Indian Armed Forces. According to the committee, tourism to these two countries could see a 50-60% decline. The committee also cited security risks for Indian travellers and urged the Government of India to issue a travel advisory for Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Prashant Pitti, co-founder, EaseMyTrip, told News18: “It is our responsibility. We were the first to issue a travel advisory on avoiding travel to Turkey. At least 22% of our tickets to Turkey and 33% to Azerbaijan have been cancelled…These numbers are going to increase. This could be the beginning for Turkey as Indian tourism will go down drastically."

A letter, reportedly from Türkiye’s department of tourism, has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter). In the letter, Türkiye urged Indian tourists not to cancel or postpone their travel plans, assuring that there are no restrictions or safety concerns for Indian travellers.

Joining the boycott call was actor Rupali Ganguly of Anupamaa fame. She wrote on X: “Can we please cancel our bookings for Turkey? This is my request to all Indian Celebs/Influencers/Travellers. This is the least we can do as Indians. #BoycottTurkey."

Meanwhile, IndiGo airlines has come under fire for continuing its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines.

Not just travel, the boycott call has spread to Turkish goods too. The Delhi Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Monday launched a protest campaign urging a complete boycott of goods imported from China and Turkey.

Earlier, traders from Uttar Pradesh and Pune joined took to the streets and began pulling Turkish produce—mostly apples—off the shelves. Udaipur traders have also decided to stop use of Turkish marble. The Shiv Sena has also called for immediate termination of a Turkish ground-handling company’s contract at Mumbai’s international airport.

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