Indian tourists cancel travel to Turkiye, Azerbaijan over countries support for Pakistan

BENGALURU: Indian have cancelled their bookings to Turkiye and Azerbaijan after the two countries voiced support for Islamabad during its recent clashes with New Delhi, booking firms said on Wednesday

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a deadly attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) last month that New Delhi said was backed by Islamabad, without offering any evidence.

Pakistan denied involvement and demanded independent and credible probe into the attack, but intense fighting broke out when India struck what it said were "terrorist camps" in Pakistan last week. They agreed a ceasefire on Saturday which has largely held.

Turkiye and Azerbaijan, popular budget holiday destinations for Indians, issued statements backing Islamabad after India's strikes.

"Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkiye decreasing by 60% (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period," a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip MMYT.O said.

EaseMyTrip's EASM.NS Chief Executive Officer, Rikant Pittie, said the platform had seen a 22% rise in cancellations for Turkey and 30% for Azerbaijan "due to recent geopolitical tensions".

Travellers had switched to Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand and Vietnam, he added.

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 Nishant Pitti said in a post on X that 287,000 Indians visited Turkiye last year and 243,000 visited Azerbaijan.

"When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?" Pitti said.