Bookings by Indians to Turkey, Azerbaijan down 60%, cancellations jump 250%

Indian tourists are canceling trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan in large numbers after the two popular holiday destinations expressed support for Pakistan. This came after India’s military action against its neighbour, following the brutal Pahalgam attack.

As per data provided by leading travel portal MakeMyTrip (MMT), bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey have come down by 60%, while cancellations have increased by 250% in the past one week.

“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,” said a MakeMyTrip spokesperson.

The company, which announced March quarterly earnings on Wednesday, have discontinued all promotions and offers on their platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations.

MMT’s profit for Q4 FY25 came at $29.2 million compared to $171.9 million in Q4FY24. Last year’s profit includes a one-time net credit of $126.1 million and a one-time gain of $30.6 million. Excluding these one-time gains, profit for Q4FY24 was $15.2 million.

Other leading platforms such as EaseMyTrip and Ixigo have also issued advisories against visiting the two countries. “Recent geopolitical tensions are substantially affecting travel patterns. Cancellation rates have reached 22% for Turkey and 30% for Azerbaijan, with travellers increasingly choosing destinations like Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand, and Vietnam,” said EaseMyTrip co-founder Rikant Pittie.

According to data shared by EaseMyTrip, 287,000 Indians visited Turkey last year, while 243,000 travelled to Azerbaijan.

Cleartrip said that over the past week, Indian travellers have made their sentiments clear, with cancellations rising by 260%. “In solidarity with the nation and in the interest of standing together during this time, we urge everyone to defer all non-essential travel to Turkey & Azerbaijan,” it added.

Ixigo has suspended all flight and hotel bookings to Turkey, China and Azerbaijan. Aloke Bajpai, Managing Director and CEO of Ixigo, posted last week on X, “Enough is Enough! Blood and Bookings won't flow together. We are suspending all flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, China and Azerbaijan on Ixigo.”

Tours and Travel companies are also considering ending their ties with Turkey’s national carrier, Turkish Airlines. Go Homestays said recently that they are ending its partnership with Turkish Airlines, while Cox & Kings suspended new packages to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkey.