MakeMyTrip sees 250% surge in Turkey, Azerbaijan trip cancellations amid boycott calls

Turkey, Azerbaijan Lose Indian Tourist Support After Backing Pakistan Post Operation Sindoor

A growing online campaign urging Indians to boycott travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan over their support for Pakistan during the ongoing tensions has started to show results.

Many Indian tourists are now cancelling their trips to these countries. According to a statement from MakeMyTrip, India’s largest travel booking platform, bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan have dropped sharply.

"Indian travellers have expressed strong sentiments over the past one week, with bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60%, while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period," MMT said in a statement on May 14.

While the platform has not stopped offering flight bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan on its website, MMT did say that it stands '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."

Earlier on May 14, EaseMyTrip founder and former chairman Nishant Pitti had urged people to choose 'Made in India' products over Chinese alternatives, days after he called on travellers to avoid visiting Turkey and Azerbaijan due to their open support for Pakistan amid the ongoing ‘Operation Sindoor’.

Sharing a post on the social media platform X, Pitti addressed the issue of celebrities endorsing Chinese products and Chinese-owned websites.

He emphasised that national interests should take precedence over individual benefits or convenience.

"Valid question - what about websites owned by Chinese firms? What about celebs promoting Chinese products? The answer lies in our choices. Stop using such sites. Boycott those endorsements. National interest > personal convenience or profit. Time to walk the talk," Pitti said in a post on X.

He added that EaseMyTrip has seen 22 percent cancellations to Turkey and more than 30 percent cancellations to Azerbaijan.

These cancellations took place after the travel portal issued a travel advisory on May 9, strongly advising limiting travel to both these countries unless essential. Pitti added that the platform has chosen not to cancel or boycott existing bookings to avoid widespread inconvenience, as many travellers use Turkey simply as a layover.

Despite the current political rift, India remains a key source market for these countries. As per the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, only 4,853 Indians visited Azerbaijan in 2014. The number stood at 243,589 in 2024. The tourism board expects a growth of 11% from now until the next 10 years. Turkey saw Indian arrivals at 3,30,000 passengers in 2024, while the number stood at 119,503 in 2014 as per the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.

There are roughly 13,000 seats between India and Turkey each way on a weekly basis, while Azerbaijan and India have a little over 3,000 seats each way on a weekly basis. There remain many one-stop options for both these countries.

The decision by the travel booking website to suspend new bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan from May 9 was taken after official condemnations from Turkey and Azerbaijan of India’s recent strikes in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, sparking calls on Indian social media for a boycott of travel to both nations.

Social media in India was flooded with statistics, some verified, some unverified, on how many passengers from India travelled to these countries. As the ceasefire announcement was being made, more and more travel companies decided not to take bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan.

These three hashtags were trending in India since May 11 - #BoycottTurkey, #BoycottAzerbaijan and #BoycottTurkeyAzerjbaijan.

Shiv Sena had on May 8 called for a boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan after both countries expressed solidarity with Pakistan against India’s Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Party leader Shaina NC had also called for Indians to boycott Turkey’s flag carrier, Turkish Airlines and requested IndiGo to end its codeshare partnership with the former.