Peak XV-backed Atlys takes down ad on Baku, suspends all marketing in Turkey and Azerbaijan

Turkey, Azerbaijan face backflash from Indian travellers amid unsupportive comments towards India.

E-visa platform Atlys has taken down its latest advertisement mentioning Baku after Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Azerbaijan condemned the military attack in Pakistan.

Founder Mohak Nahta said that it was bad timing.

"The ad came before Operation Sindoor took place and the comments by Azerbaijan and Turkey came after that. We got unlucky with respect to the timing. For a May 6 ad, we have to give the copy a week before," he said.

He recounted the events saying that the print ad was designed and released on May 5, which was subsequently published on May 6. The ad did include a reference to Baku, Azerbaijan. At the time of its release, there were no indications of escalating geopolitical tensions, he said. "Tensions increased after May 7, as the situation between India and Pakistan began to escalate. Subsequently, on May 8, the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey publicly expressed their support for Pakistan amidst the rising tensions."

Mohak added that upon learning of the official positions of Azerbaijan and Turkey, they made the decision to immediately suspend all advertising and marketing efforts in both countries. "This action was taken to align with our commitment to support India and to avoid any unintended affiliations during this sensitive period."

"The ad was never intended to promote any specific destination. It was designed to highlight a quirk in travellers’ behavior," the founder added.

Mohak also highlighted the negative sentiment among Indian travellers towards the two destinations.

"For Turkey, we supported e-visas. After the country's comments, visa volumes for Turkey and Azerbaijan has dropped to zero. Those who have gotten visas are asking for cancellation."

Moneycontrol last week reported the blow on Turkey and Azerbaijan's tourism due to their unsupportive comments towards India. Many firms in the travel and hospitality space suspending bookings to these two countries including Ixigo, Cleartrip.

On the overall travel sentiment, Mohak pointed out that overall international travel has taken a hit due to the India-Pakistan border tensions. "We did se a dip last week because of the uncertainty. People were asking to put pending visas on hold to Schengen, Dubai, among other destinations. Even though the ceasefire was announced people are unsure whether the situation has fully settled down. So, it will take 2-3 days for travel to start seeing a rebound."

Atlys' last round of funding of $20 million was co-led by Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital. Overall, it has raised around $37 million so far.