Outrage over Turkiye, Azerbaijan support to Pak; tourist bookings dip

Aghast over Turkiye’s and Azerbaijan’s open support to Pakistan during the recent flare-up, a clamour started in India on Wednesday for taking steps to distance the country from both Ankara and Baku. India is likely to revisit trade relations with both Turkiye and Azerbaijan, sources said.

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Following Turkiye’s and Azerbaijan’s support to Pakistan, calls for boycotting Turkish goods and tourism have surfaced across the country with online travel platforms such as EaseMyTrip, Cox & Kings and Ixigo issuing advisories against visiting these nations, while suspending all their travel packages to both the nations.

Additionally, Indian travel brand Go Homestays has ended its partnership with Turkish Airlines, accusing the airline of supporting a nation unfriendly towards India.

Travel firms report big drop in bookings

Bengaluru: Indians are cancelling holidays in popular resorts in Turkey and Azerbaijan, two booking firms said. "Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60% (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period," a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip said. EaseMyTrip's Chief Executive Officer, Rikant Pittie, said the platform had seen a 22% rise in cancellations for Turkey and 30% for Azerbaijan "due to recent geopolitical tensions". Reuters

Earlier, a letter, reportedly from Turkiye’s department of tourism went viral on X and it sparked a storm. In the letter, Turkiye urged Indian tourists not to cancel or postpone their travel plans, assuring that there are no restrictions or safety concerns for Indian travellers.

However, there was backlash with users accusing Turkiye of “begging” Indians to return while continuing to support Pakistan.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi in her comment on X said, “No Turkiye, Indians won’t come spending money on tourism in a country that uses the same to arm Pakistan. Look for your tourists elsewhere, our money ain’t blood money.”

JNU suspends MoU with Turkish university

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Wednesday informed that it has suspended an MoU with Turkey’s Inonu University which was signed in February. “Due to national security considerations, the MoU between JNU and Inonu University, Türkiye stands suspended until further notice. JNU stands with the nation,” the JNU said. The MoU was inked on February 3 for a period of three years. TNS

Former Union Minister and Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar also posted the letter stating: “No thank you (sic).”

During the recent flare-up, the government said Pakistan also used Turkish drones in its failed attempt to target Indian military installations. Both the countries have criticised India's strike on terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir(PoK).

While India's exports to Turkey stood at $5.2 billion during Apr-Feb 2024-25 as against $6.65 billion in 2023-24, imports remained at $2.84 billion during Apr-Feb 2024-25 as against $3.78 billion in 2023-24.

India's exports to Azerbaijan stood at only $86.07 million during Apr-Feb 2024-25 as against $89.67 million in 2023-24, while imports remained at $1.93 million during Apr-Feb 2024-25 as against $0.74 million in 2023-24.