Indian travellers have sent a clear diplomatic message, rejecting countries that backed Pakistan during its brief conflict with India. Following Operation Sindoor, a counterterror campaign launched in May 2025, travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan has witnessed an unprecedented decline, falling by as much as 70 percent between June and August this year compared to the same period in 2024.
According to official travel data accessed by CNN-News18, Indian arrivals to Azerbaijan dropped 70 percent, while travel to Turkey fell 38 percent, marking a tangible impact of what analysts call a “people-driven diplomatic response” to the geopolitical alignments that emerged after the Pahalgam terror massacre.
Operation Sindoor was launched in May 2025 by the Indian Air Force (IAF) following the massacre of 26 Indian civilians, most of them tourists, by Pakistan-trained terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in April.
In a retaliation, the IAF conducted precision air strikes deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, eliminating several high-value militant targets and command centres. However, the situation escalated when the Pakistan Army directly intervened, using drones and missiles to target Indian cities and military bases.
Despite the escalation, Indian air defence systems successfully neutralised the incoming attacks, preventing significant damage. The conflict ended after Pakistan’s Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) sought a truce following heavy losses to its military infrastructure.
During the brief conflict, Turkey supplied combat drones to Pakistan, which were used in attempted strikes against Indian installations. Azerbaijan publicly condemned India’s Operation Sindoor, aligning itself diplomatically with Islamabad’s narrative.
The twin gestures, military and diplomatic, triggered widespread outrage across India. In the following weeks, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir made official visits to Ankara and Baku, thanking their counterparts for supporting Pakistan’s stance.
This overt display of solidarity provoked calls for a boycott of Turkey and Azerbaijan on social media, with many Indian travellers pledging not to visit countries that “side with terror sponsors.”
The impact was immediate and measurable. Between June and August 2025, Indian arrivals in both countries plummeted sharply compared to the same period last year.
Azerbaijan: 70 percent Decline
June 2025: 9,934 (vs 28,315 in 2024)
July 2025: 4,665 (vs 20,124 in 2024)
August 2025: 6,032 (vs 21,137 in 2024)
Total arrivals fell to 20,631, compared to 69,576 last year, a loss of nearly 49,000 visitors.
Turkey: 38 percent Decline
June 2025: 24,250 (vs 38,307 in 2024)
July 2025: 16,825 (vs 28,875 in 2024)
August 2025: 17,649 (vs 26,781 in 2024)
Total arrivals dropped to 58,544, down from 93,963 in 2024.
This steep decline reflects the continuation of India’s post-Sindoor tourism boycott, marking a new phase of citizen-led diplomatic signalling.
While no official travel advisory was issued by the Indian government, leading travel portals such as MakeMyTrip and EaseMyTrip reportedly deincentivised packages to Turkey and Azerbaijan following public sentiment.
EaseMyTrip, known for patriotic initiatives in the past, such as halting ticket sales to the Maldives earlier this year after derogatory remarks about India, again found support online for what users called “travel diplomacy in action.”
The fallout from Operation Sindoor goes beyond military or diplomatic domains, it has triggered a realignment in India’s people-to-people and tourism diplomacy.
By choosing to avoid destinations perceived as anti-India, citizens have effectively created a new form of soft power sanction. This has amplified India’s message globally that nations aligning with terror-sponsoring states will face long-term reputational costs.
Despite the absence of a formal advisory, the tourism slump itself serves as an informal boycott, signalling India’s growing global influence and public sensitivity toward hostile alliances.
The travel downturn also shows the strength of post-conflict sentiment in India, where social media campaigns, amplified by influencers and veterans, have urged citizens to avoid nations that support terrorism or interfere in India’s sovereignty.
The steep fall in Indian tourism to Turkey and Azerbaijan marks a new phase in citizen-led foreign policy participation, where the collective moral stance of travellers echoes the government’s security posture.
As Operation Sindoor reshaped India’s diplomatic and strategic landscape, its aftershocks are now visible in global travel patterns, proving that Indians are no longer passive observers of international politics, but active participants shaping global narratives through choice and conscience.
