Not just Turkey, Indian tourists shun Azerbaijan too, numbers drop 66% post Operation Sindoor

The Azerbaijan tourism website depicts a truncated map of Jammu and Kashmir, showing PoK and Aksai Chin as not part of India, News18 has found.

Big dip in numbers

The tourism figures for the month of June show that only 9,934 Indian tourists visited Azerbaijan in June, compared to 28,315 Indian tourists going to Baku in the same month last year. That is an almost 66% drop in tourism numbers in June after Operation Sindoor and Azerbaijan’s open support for Pakistan during it.

May and June are the top tourism months for Indians to go to Azerbaijan, and as many as 23,326 Indian tourists had gone to the country this May, before the sharp drop in June. Apart from Turkey, Azerbaijan is the other country which openly supported Pakistan at global forums, and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir paid a visit to Azerbaijan in May to thank the country for its support. A trilateral meeting with Turkey and Azerbaijan happened.

Until May, Azerbaijan described India as one of the key target markets for its tourism sector. “The number of guests, overnight stays, and expenditures is growing, and India is among the top three countries visiting Azerbaijan. In 2024, Indian arrivals reached 243,589—a 108% increase compared to 117,302 in 2023,” says the Azerbaijan Tourism Department.

Turkey at receiving end too

News18 reported on Saturday how Indian tourism to Turkey has halved in the last three months, after the role of Ankara in arming and backing Pakistan became clear during Operation Sindoor.

Latest figures accessed by News18 showed only 16,244 Indian tourists went to Turkey in July this year, compared to 31,659 in May. That is a nearly 50 per cent drop. Even comparing the year-on-year figures, the massive drop is clear. Against 16,244 Indian tourists landing up in Turkey this July, 28,875 went there in the same month last year. That is a 44% drop.

Turkey’s role was exposed in May with the discovery of Turkish-made drones being used by Pakistan against India during Operation Sindoor. Turkey also adopted a blatant diplomatic stance in favour of Pakistan. Since then, a “Boycott Turkey” campaign has emerged in India.

Note: Author Aman Sharma is the Executive Editor, National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi.