Talking to ET over these cancellations, Shekhawat said, “I salute those people who have cancelled their travel plans to such countries (Turkey and Azerbaijan) which stood firmly with our enemies during these tough times. I salute their sense of patriotism.”
In a poetic way, the minister suggested to all these tourists to explore India, saying: “Hamare desh mein dekhane ko hai bohot kuch vishesh toh kyun jayein videsh (there are many special places in our country, then why go abroad). Stay here and see India.”
Following Operation Sindoor, and with both Turkey and Azerbaijan issuing statements backing Pakistan. The Azerbaijan foreign ministry had stated that their country “stands in solidarity with the people of Pakistan” and similarly Turkey described India’s strike against terror camps as an “unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
As per data shared by online travel platform EaseMyTrip, 287,000 Indians visited Turkey last year, while 243,000 travelled to Azerbaijan.
Several online travel platforms also suspended flights and hotel bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan.In both these countries, tourism is an essential part of their respective GDPs. Tourism contributes 12% of the GDP in Turkey.
