01-07-2025
India's Turkey Travel Slumps in May Amid Diplomatic Backlash
Turkey is witnessing a repeat of what Maldives saw last year. As the world is opening up to Indians, travelers are now making choices that they think align with national interest, even if it means missing out on picture-perfect social media clicks.
Indian arrivals to Turkey dropped nearly 24% in May this year compared to the same month last year. Provisional data from Turkey's Ministry of Tourism and Culture shows that the number of Indian visitors fell from 41,544 in May 2024 to 31,659 this year.
May accounted for the sharpest decline in Indian tourism to Turkey. Between January and April 2025, 83,306 Indians visited the country, this is slightly below the 84,522 recorded during the same period in 2024, a modest drop of 1.44%.
A key factor was a geopolitical development involving an armed conflict with Pakistan. Following a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people, most of them tourists, India carried out military strikes on terror bases in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. Turkey and Azerbaijan publicly condemned the strikes.
In response, several Indian travel firms, including PickYourTrail, Cox & Kings India, EaseMyTrip, and Go Homestays, suspended bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan. Vacation rental company Goa Villas also announced it would no longer host Turkish citizens at its properties.
Decline in Travel Bookings
Travel agency Brightsun Travel said it has noticed a significant decline in interest and bookings for Turkey among Indian travelers during May and June. 'Our data shows that bookings dropped to nearly 50% from 2024 to 2025,' Sandeep Arora, director at Brightsun Travel told Skift. 'While multiple factors could be at play, we believe recent geopolitical developments and growing sentiment on social media, including calls for boycotts may have influenced travel decisions," he added.
Online travel company EaseMyTrip also witnessed a similar trend. 'As of May 2025, we've observed a sharp decline in travel interest to Turkey among Indian travelers. Bookings have dropped by more than 50%,' CEO Rikant Pittie said. He added that since the fallout in May, there has been no visible change among Indian travelers that signals a thawing of sentiment towards Turkey.
'On the contrary, Indian travelers have shown strong and consistent alignment with national sentiment, choosing to withhold leisure travel to destinations perceived as unsupportive during times of national adversity. Consequently, we've seen a redistribution of travel interest toward alternative destinations such as Greece, Egypt, Georgia, and Vietnam - countries perceived as neutral or friendly,' he told Skift.
India's Growing Importance to Turkey
In February, Firat Sunel, Ambassador of Turkey to India, said that India represented one of its most dynamic and fastest-growing source markets. Last year, over 330,000 Indians visited Turkey.
The country's tourism board said that the Indian market emerged as a 'particularly strong growth driver' last year. It said that this trend was driven by enhanced air connectivity between the two nations, growing popularity of Turkey among Indian wedding planners and MICE event organizers, and introduction of Turkish experiences that cater to Indian preferences.
Earlier this year, the country's tourism ministry and tourism promotion agency held a six-city 'India Destination Promotion Event 2025' to facilitate meetings between travel suppliers in Turkey and trade partners in India. Turkey's tourism board said that the timing of the event was aligned with the growing popularity of Turkey among Indian travelers.
A Repeat of Maldives?
After the India-Pakistan conflict, there was a sharp decline in interest among Indians for Turkey. The decline in tourism might not seem significant on its own. But to put into perspective, last year, Indian tourists in May increased by 47% as compared to 2023. For the January to May period, this increase was nearly 35% last year.
The growth of Indian tourists to Turkey stabilized to 20.7% by the end of 2024. This means that the first five months were significant contributors for the India source market, a trend that was also true in 2023.
According to online travel platform MakeMyTrip, in the week following the breakout of the conflict, it witnessed a 60% decline in bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey. Cancellations during the same period surged by 250%.
In the days following this development, Indian airports also terminated agreements with Turkish and Chinese firms for their support for Pakistan.
This mirrors a trend seen last year between Indian travelers and the Maldives. A diplomatic spat between the two nations led Indians to boycott the archipelagic nation, resulting in India slipping to the fifth position for tourist arrivals into Maldives in January 2024.
A diplomatic spat led to a widespread boycott of the island nation by Indians, causing India to drop to the fifth spot for tourist arrivals in January 2024. At the start of 2024, India was the Maldives' third-largest source market, accounting for 7.6% of arrivals. In 2023, it had held the top spot, contributing over 11% of the 1.8 million total arrivals.
By May 2024, India had fallen further to sixth place, prompting Maldives Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal to publicly invite Indians back. 'Our economy depends on tourism. Our people and the government will extend a warm welcome to Indian travelers,' he said.
The boycott's effects lasted through the year. India ended 2024 as the Maldives' sixth-largest market, sending just over 130,000 tourists, a sharp decline from more than 209,000 in 2023.
