Nation first: Indian travel agencies may face 7-8% loss amid boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan

Indian travel agencies expect to incur an average loss of 7-8% due to the cancellation of non-essential trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan, amid escalating border tension between India and Pakistan. In solidarity with India following the Pahalgam terror attack, online travel operators such as Make My Trip, Ease My Trip, ixigo, and Pickyourtrail have suspended bookings for flights and hotel to these countries.

Make My Trip spokesperson said that they have witnessed a 60% drop in bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan, while cancellations have surged 250% in the past few days. On the other hand, Rikant Pittie, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, told Storyboard18 that cancellation rates have reached 22% for Turkey and 30% for Azerbaijan.

According to Hari Ganapathy, Co-founder, Pickyourtrail, Indian travellers spend between Rs 1–1.25 lakh per trip in Azerbaijan and around Rs 2.9–3.35 lakh in Turkey on average. However, the boycott sentiment against Turkey and Azerbaijan for favouring Pakistan will cost their businesses heavily.

Ganapathy told Storyboard18 that the significant drop in Indian travellers could translate to tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue for the tourism boards of Turkey and Azerbaijan annually, particularly for Turkey, which welcomed over 270,000 Indian tourists in 2024. Azerbaijan has also seen an influx of Indian tourists in 2024, with approximately 243,000 Indian tourists visiting last year compared to over 60,000 in 2022.

Indian business tycoon Harsh Goenka pointed out that Indians gave Turkey and Azerbaijan over Rs 4,000 crore in 2024 through tourism. However, Goenka did not specify the source.

"India created jobs, boosted their economy, hotels, weddings and flights. Today, both stand with Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. Plenty of beautiful places in India and the world. Please skip these 2 places. Jai Hind," he wrote on X.

Travel platforms told Storyboard18 that due to the ongoing geopolitical situation and Turkey and Azerbaijan will lose Indian tourists, who may instead opt for destinations like Vietnam, Greece, Morocco, and Thailand.

The current situation has also surge in patriotic marketing by travel platforms. In a national daily EaseMyTrip wrote, "Nation First, Business Later". Rishabh Jain, content creator of Labour Law Advisor YouTube channel, praised the company's move, saying it had cracked 'Patriotic Moment Marketing' without spending heavily on influencer marketing or other modes of marketing.

EaseMyTrip employed a similar strategy during the 'Boycott Maldives' movement.

However, some slammed the approach of the company, with one person saying, "From a business perspective, companies should be neutral and wait for the government's direction. Sometimes, such marketing tactics can backfire, and using sensitive situations for marketing purposes may yield short-term gain but can harm in the long run".

This was said against the backdrop of the Indian government renewing a $50 million Treasury Bill issued by the Maldivian government for another year.

Marketing professor Ashish Kaul said, "A terrible idea. It will be seen for what it is – capitalizing on a situation fueled by hate, driven by tragedy, and leading to innocent deaths. This approach has all the wrong brand associations, is poorly thought out, and is utterly opportunistic".

Pickyourtrail, which has also suspended bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan stated that it will surely have an impact on its business amid peak travel season. However, co-founder Ganapathy added, "Our decision was driven by a deeper sense of responsibility — to stand in solidarity with the nation and do what we believe is right. We’ve quietly noticed a sense of appreciation from some of our existing customers, and believe it may have resonated with a wider audience as well".