BENGALURU – Indians are cancelling holidays in popular resorts in Turkey and Azerbaijan after the countries supported Pakistan during its recent conflict with New Delhi, two booking firms said.
Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir in April that New Delhi said was backed by Islamabad.Â
Pakistan denied involvement, but intense fighting broke out when India struck what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan last week. They agreed a ceasefire on May 10 which has largely held. Â
Turkey and Azerbaijan, popular budget holiday destinations for Indians, issued statements backing Islamabad after India’s strikes.Â
“Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60 per cent (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250 per cent during the same period,” a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip said.Â
EaseMyTrip’s chief executive officer, Mr Rikant Pittie, said the platform had seen a 22 per cent rise in cancellations for Turkey and 30 per cent for Azerbaijan “due to recent geopolitical tensions”.
Travellers had switched to Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand and Vietnam, he added.Â
Another ticketing platform, ixigo, earlier said in a post on X that it would be suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan and China.
EaseMyTrip’s founder and chairman, Mr Nishant Pitti, said in a post on X that 287,000 Indians visited Turkey in 2024 and 243,000 visited Azerbaijan.Â
“When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?” Pitti said. REUTERS
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
