Two booking firms have reported that Indians are cancelling their holiday plans in popular resorts in Türkiye and Azerbaijan after these countries expressed support for Pakistan during its recent conflict with New Delhi.
Relations between India and Pakistan sharply deteriorated following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, which New Delhi alleged was backed by Islamabad. Pakistan denied any involvement, but intense fighting erupted when India conducted strikes on what it claimed were “terrorist camps” within Pakistan last week. A ceasefire agreement was reached on Saturday and has largely held.
Türkiye and Azerbaijan, both popular and affordable holiday destinations for Indian tourists, issued statements in support of Islamabad following India’s strikes.
“Bookings for Azerbaijan and Türkiye have decreased by 60% (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period,” a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip stated.
EaseMyTrip’s Chief Executive Officer, Rikant Pittie, indicated that the platform had observed a 22% increase in cancellations for Türkiye and a 30% increase for Azerbaijan “due to recent geopolitical tensions.”
He added that travelers had shifted their bookings to destinations such as Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Another ticketing platform, ixigo, had earlier announced in a post on X that it would be suspending flight and hotel bookings for Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and China.
EaseMyTrip’s founder and chairman, Nishant Pitti, shared in a post on X that 287,000 Indians visited Türkiye last year, and 243,000 visited Azerbaijan.
“When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?” Pitti questioned.
