Big drop in Indian tourists: Turkey pays heavy price for support to Pakistan during Op Sindoor

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

Indian tourist traffic to Turkey has plunged dramatically in the wake of Ankara’s support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, with official figures showing a 37 percent drop in June which is the peak month for Indian outbound travel to the country.

As per tourism data released by Turkish authorities, cited by CNN-News18, only 24,250 Indian tourists visited Turkey in June 2025, compared to 38,307 in the same month last year.

A similar decline was seen in May, with tourist arrivals from India falling to 31,659, down from 41,554 in May 2024. This is being seen as an immediate impact of the fallout post Operation Sindoor, when Turkey came out in support of Islamabad, sparking backlash in India. Later, it was found that Pakistan used Turkish-made drones against India during the military conflict.

India recovered debris showing the use of SONGAR ASISGUARD drones — armed drones developed and deployed by Turkey’s military — by Pakistan-based operatives during the assault.

Following this, travel portals such as MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip announced that they would no longer promote travel packages to Turkey. “Indian tourists usually book their vacations much in advance, so the real impact of the drop in tourism is being seen in June," a senior government official told News18.

According to reports, a high-ranking Turkish military and intelligence team, led by Lt Gen Yasar Kadioglu, visited Pakistan Air Force headquarters on April 30 and met the chief of staff. The timing of these visits has further deepened India’s suspicion of Ankara’s role.

Turkey, along with China and Azerbaijan, was one of only three countries among the 193 UN member states to support Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed this out in Parliament. The three countries also issued statements siding with Pakistan at global platforms like the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Prime Minister Modi, in a symbolic diplomatic move, recently visited Cyprus en route to the G7 Summit in Canada, a gesture widely interpreted as a message to Ankara. During his visit, he and the President of Cyprus toured Nicosia’s UN ceasefire line and viewed the northern territories under Turkish occupation since 1974.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir have both visited Ankara to thank Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his continued support amid escalating tensions with New Delhi.