MICE AFFAIRS MEDIA GROUP, 10th May 2025
The Indian travel industry has started to boycott tourism to Azerbaijan and Turkey. The move comes post Indian Pak tensions, where Turkey and Azerbaijan have openly shown solidarity to the terror nation.
Today, India's oldest and largest Travel Association (TAAI) has issued an official statement urging the travel industry to pause tourism to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The tourism strike has had an immediate impact on the travel industry. Several Indian travel agencies have suspended new bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan, and some have even halted existing reservations. This move is seen as a precautionary measure to protect travelers and avoid potential diplomatic complications. The suspension of bookings has affected various segments of the travel market, including leisure travel, corporate travel, and group tours.
Earlier travel organizations like Ease My Trip, Pick Your Trail, Zenith Holidays, Cox and Kings, and Geanis Holidays also issued their statements to stop promoting these destinations.
Azerbaijan and Turkey have expressed support for Pakistan during the current crisis, which has led to a diplomatic standoff between the two South Asian nations. In response to the situation, India has suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals, closed its borders, and initiated military strikes targeting militant groups allegedly operating from Pakistan.
India is one of the key target markets for the tourism sector in Azerbaijan. The number of guests, overnight stays, and expenditures is growing, and India is among the top three countries visiting Azerbaijan. The number of Indian arrivals to Azerbaijan increased steadily from 4,853 in 2014 to 65,118 in 2019, representing an overall growth of more than 13 times. From 2022 to 2023, the numbers started to recover post-pandemic, with arrivals increasing by 93% in 2023 compared to 2022, e.g., from 60,731 to 117,302, indicating a strong recovery trend. In 2024, arrivals reached 243,589 - a 108% increase compared to 117,302 in 2023 - indicating a very positive trend in travel patterns from India to Azerbaijan. Source (Azerbaijan Tourism Board)
And as per media reports, between January to May 2024 Turkey was visited by more than 126,000 Indians for tourism purposes, an increase of 34% as compared to last year.
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