Industrialist Harsh Goenka on Tuesday urged Indians not to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan because they chose to support Pakistan after the Pahalagam attack in Kashmir on April 22. The RPG Group chairperson said that Indians gave Turkey and Azerbaijan over Rs 4,000 crore, but he did not specify the source of the information.
"Indians gave Rs 4,000+cr to Turkey and Azerbaijan last year through tourism. Created jobs. Boosted their economy, hotels, weddings, flights. Today, both stand with Pakistan after Pahalgam attack. Plenty of beautiful places in India and the world. Please skip these 2 places. Jai Hind," he wrote on X.
Goenka's comment comes after several Indian travel companies suspended bookings to the two countries. According to reports, there is expected to be a 50 percent drop in bookings from India to Azerbaijan and Turkey. Many have already cancelled their plans to these destinations, and some are shifting their travel to places like Bali, Malaysia, among others.
Some Indian travel websites even said they would neither book flights with Turkish Airlines nor offer accommodation to citizens from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Ixigo wrote on X: "In solidarity with our nation, we have suspended flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan, and China. When it comes to Bharat, we don't think twice," reinforcing its commitment to stand with India during these challenging times.
Go Homestays also shared a statement. “We are officially ending our partnership with Turkish Airlines due to their unsupportive stance towards India. Goijng forward, we will no longer include their flights in our international travel packages. Jai Hind," they wrote on X.
Rental accommodation and hotel service Goa Villas announced: "Due to Turkey's non-cooperative stance in the current global scenario involving India and Pakistan, we’ve decided not to offer any accommodation services to Turkish citizens in Goa. We stand firmly with our nation. Jai Hind."
India is one of the fastest-growing markets for Turkey and Azerbaijan
In 2024, 3.3 lakh Indian tourists visited Turkey which was 20.7 percent more than 2023 when 2.74 lakh Indians had visited the country. As compared to 2023, the country last year between January to May had recorded a 34 percent surge in Indian visitors with 1.26 lakh Indian tourists, making India one of Turkey's fastest-growing tourism markets. Azerbaijan last year saw as many as 2.43 lakh Indian tourists, which was 108 percent higher than 2023, when 1.17 lakh visitors travelled to the country.
'Being in solidarity with the people of Pakistan...'
On May 7, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "the attack carried out by India last night (May 6) raises the risk of an all-out war. We condemn such provocative steps as well as attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Azerbaijan too condemned the military attack in Pakistan. "The Republic of Azerbaijan expresses its concern over the further escalation of tension between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. We condemn military attacks against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that killed and injured several civilians," its ministry stated. "Being in solidarity with the people of Pakistan, we express condolences to the families of the innocent victims and wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured. We call on all parties to exercise restraint and to resolve the conflict through diplomatic means."
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