News India Live, Digital Desk: Türkiye-azerbaijan tourism crisis: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the apex organization representing traders across the country, on Wednesday called upon Indian traders and citizens to openly support Pakistan to fully support Turkey and Azerbaijan’s visit.
In 2024, about 62.2 million foreign tourists came to Türkiye, out of which around 300,000 tourists came from India alone. This shows an increase of 20.7 percent in Indian tourists as compared to 2023.
The traders’ organization said that it has been running a nationwide campaign for boycott of Chinese products for a long time, which has a great impact and now intends to expand the movement to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
The organization will coordinate with travel and tour operators and other related stakeholders to speed up this campaign.
CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal emphasized that boycotting the visit of Turkey and Azerbaijan by Indian citizens to protest against supporting Pakistan could have great impact on the economies of these countries, especially their tourism sector.
He said that if Indian tourists boycott Turkey, the country could suffer a direct loss of about $ 291.6 million.
Khandelwal said that in addition, the cancellation of Indian weddings, corporate events and other cultural programs will also lead to indirect economic loss.
About 2.6 million foreign tourists came to Azerbaijan in 2024, out of which around 250,000 were Indians. The average expenditure by an Indian tourist was 2,170 Azerbaijani Manat (AZN), which is approximately $ 1,276, leading to the total Indian contribution to about $ 308.6 million.
Therefore, boycott by Indian tourists can result in direct loss on this scale.
The CAIT said in its statement that since Indians go to Azerbaijan mainly for holidays, marriage, entertainment and adventure activities, a large decline may cause notable economic recession in these areas.
Thousands of people across the country have already canceled their travel plan of these two countries, while ticket booking platforms and travel operators have stopped booking for these countries.
The Tourism Department, Ankara has urged Indian passengers to travel to the country. The department said in a statement, “A large part of the local population is unaware of the ongoing struggle between India and Pakistan, and it has no effect on the daily life or tourism environment here.”
According to Khandelwal, the economic pressure can force both Türkiye and Azerbaijan to reconsider India’s policies.
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