Operation Boycott

Turkey and Azerbaijan are off the tourist and destination wedding map. And until there's more clarity at a diplomatic level, traveller hesitation is likely to continue

By Monica Bathija

Published: May 19, 2025 04:30:38 PM IST

A couple enjoying a panoramic view at Cappadocia in Turkey. Image: Shutterstock

Archana Gupta, founder of Pack n Fly Travellers Club LLP, which conducts international and domestic tours for women, has done about 15 trips to Turkey and five to Azerbaijan in the last 10 years. She had one upcoming to Turkey from May 23 to June 3, but with more than 50 percent of the women cancelling their trips in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan conflict, she decided to call it off.

“Being a boutique travel firm, our group size is always around 15. This time there were 12 members, but you cannot do a trip for just four people. So, we had to refund the money, and we all had to put up with financial losses,” says Gupta, adding that the Turkey visa is also quite expensive and therefore her clients lost money on the visas too.

Travel portals and tour operators alike have been reporting cancellations of bookings and no fresh bookings for both Turkey and Azerbaijan. Considering these countries’ alignment with Pakistan, tourism to both seems set to be impacted not just in the short term, but also long-term—with destination weddings, planned months in advance, too being put on hold or taken elsewhere.

Hitting pause and cancel

Travel portals and tour operators began seeing cancellations when people started reading and hearing about the two countries’ support for Pakistan. In the week from May 8 to 14, Cleartrip saw cancellations rising by 260 percent, while according to a MakeMyTrip spokesperson, “Indian travellers have expressed strong sentiments over the past one week, with bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60 percent, while cancellations have surged by 250 percent during the same period.”

EaseMyTrip issued a formal advisory, MakeMyTrip put up an advisory and discontinued promotions and offers to the two countries on its website, while Cleartrip and ixigo also suspended flight bookings. “On May 10, 2025, driven by feedback from our users, we took a decision to suspend all flight and hotel bookings for certain countries whose actions and stance during the conflict sparked significant public outrage in India,” said Aloke Bajpai, CEO, and Rajnish Kumar, co-CEO, ixigo.

Travel firm Cox & Kings too has temporarily suspended new bookings for the two destinations. “We’ve seen a significant drop in new bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan over the last two weeks. Many travellers with upcoming trips to these countries have requested rescheduling or cancellation. In some cases, they’ve opted for alternative destinations instead of cancelling entirely. We’ve made the process easier for them by offering free cancellations and complimentary visa support for those changing their travel plans from Turkey or Azerbaijan to other locations,” says Karan Agarwal, director, Cox & Kings.

Ravi Gosain, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), points out that India sent around 300,000 people to Turkey and around 200,000-250,000 to Azerbaijan in 2024 and “specifically for Azerbaijan this increase was enormous because before that there were only 60,000 to 70,000 travellers going. So it will be a big dent for them”. He adds that there will be a further decline in numbers in the coming months. “There were about 40 to 50 percent cancellations and there are also those who have trips in the pipeline, where people are thinking, evaluating what the financial impact will be if they cancel, and about how they will be treated there if they go.”

Also read: MakeMyTrip: Using tech to shape travel

Crossing Turkey off the wedding list

Turkey, with its luxury hotels, venues and on-ground support, has been a popular destination for weddings, with Cappadocia also being favoured for pre-wedding shoots. “So, there's significant business going there,” says Parthip Thyagarajan, co-founder and CEO of WeddingSutra.com. He adds that at least 50 wealthy Indian families held weddings in Istanbul, Bodrum and Antalya in 2024. “If you don't include travel and gifting, they're spending, for hotel, FNB, local vendors, ground transportation, anywhere between Rs 3 crore and Rs 10 crore for a wedding,” he says.

What’s more, of the group sizes of 250 to 750, about 15 to 20 percent of the HNIs also stay back to holiday in Turkey. “It might not be comparable to regular tourist numbers, but these are the wealthy and ultra wealthy who are staying on for a luxury vacation,” adds Thyagarajan.

All that seems set to take a hit, with couples and families either taking a wait-and-watch approach or if they are planning for a wedding soon, simply crossing it off their list of options. “We were planning something in November this year for a couple and were looking at options like Turkey, UAE and Bali. We had also been in touch with local planners in Turkey, but then the couple said it was a sure no for Turkey,” says Priya Maganti, CEO and co-founder of RVR PRO and RVR Eventz & Design, which also put up an official statement on their social media saying they would not like to take up any weddings associated with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Unlike holidays, which might still be taken quietly and off the radar in case someone didn’t or couldn’t cancel, there are other factors that come into play with high-profile weddings. For one, there are multiple decision makers, from the bride’s family to the groom’s family. Besides, what also needs to be taken into consideration is how comfortable the guests might be about going. “Because it's not just about the couple, it's also about their guests, and anybody who can afford these weddings are people who have money, who are also influential people,” says Ambika Gupta, founder and creative director of wedding design and planning firm The A-Cube Project.

Though Azerbaijan is not big on the destination weddings map, Samit Garg, president of Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), which also issued a letter urging members “to act consciously when it comes to where and with whom we do business”, says a substantial amount of MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) was happening in Azerbaijan. “That business will definitely get impacted.”

What Next

When advisories were issued about Maldives in January last year, there was a slowdown in travel to the islands, with a recovery taking about six to eight months once the public discourse settled. However, travel booking firms are unsure if the same pattern will follow for Turkey and Istanbul. “As a travel company, we’re monitoring the situation closely and will resume promotions or bookings when the environment feels more conducive, but not anytime soon,” says Agarwal of Cox & Kings.

Considering the peak season for both Turkey and Azerbaijan typically runs from April to early October, it is likely that many travellers will skip these destinations this year unless sentiment shifts positively in the coming months. “Until there’s more clarity or reassurance at a diplomatic level, we anticipate that traveller hesitation will likely continue,” adds Agarwal.