Indian Travel Platforms Boycott Turkey & Azerbaijan: How Much Does It Matter?

Last year, over half a million Indians flew to Turkey and Azerbaijan, many for big-ticket weddings, luxury getaways, or corporate retreats. If not the biggest, the Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region is one of the most sought after travel destinations among Indians. 

Turkey alone attracted about 300,000 Indian travelers last year. Azerbaijan saw more than 240,000. 

However, in May 2025, travel agencies like ixigo, Pickyourtrail and Cox & Kings abruptly suspended all bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The trigger: both countries had publicly backed Pakistan in its cross-border standoff against India.

Notably, Turkey and Azerbaijan aren’t marginal markets. They are two of the most profitable destinations in the agencies’ outbound portfolios.

Taking into the consideration that the average traveler spends between $1,200 and $2,000, with agencies earning commissions of 10–15%, that results in $108 Mn to $150 Mn in direct revenue across the board — particularly for high-margin segments like destination weddings and corporate offsites.

Keeping this in mind, over the years, OTAs and travel platforms had built custom packages and deep supply chains around these markets. Destinations like Istanbul, Antalya, and Baku are built into seasonal campaigns, sales targets, and partnership deals.

The suspension for these destinations meant instantly pulling the plug on an entire ecosystem. As of now, Turkey and Azerbaijan are blocked from search results and booking APIs on the websites.

Notably, a single wedding group booking to Turkey could bring in $50,000 in gross revenue, while a domestic trip to Himachal Pradesh might fetch a platform roughly $300, based on the packages we could see. So the math doesn’t add up. 

The decision wasn’t made lightly either. “Turkey/CIS season is just kicking off. For us, this suspension could impact about 2–3% of our projected revenue for 2025,” Hari Ganapathy, cofounder of travel platform Pickyourtrail told Inc42. 

“But unlike last year’s Maldives situation, this time the decision was ours—and both travellers and investors have supported us. It’s to be looked at as a stance taken for the nation rather than anything else.”

Notably in 2024, due to arguments between the governments of India and the archipelago, companies like EaseMyTrip faced criticism for boycotting bookings to Maldives.

This time around EaseMyTrip didn’t suspend bookings to any country. However, it issued an advisory instead.

“Travel is a powerful tool. Let’s not use it to empower those who don’t stand with us,” said Nishant Pitti, founder and chairman, EaseMyTrip. “Every rupee we spend abroad is a vote. Let’s spend it where our values are respected. Jai Hind!”

According to Pitti, over 287,000 Indians visited Turkey last year and 243,000 visited Azerbaijan. “Tourism drives their economies. When these nations openly support Pakistan, should we fuel their tourism and their economies?,” he said.

Meanwhile, as an entity, EaseMyTrip issued an official advisory urging travelers to avoid non-essential travel to the two countries, citing the Pahalgam terror attack and the escalating India-Pakistan tensions. 

ixigo on other hand, announced in a social media post: “In solidarity with our nation, ixigo is suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkey, Azerbaijan, and China. Because when it comes to Bharat, we don’t think twice. Jai Hind.”

However, ixigo didn’t answer Inc42’s questions regarding the financial impact of the decision.

Of course, this isn’t the first time foreign policy has bled into tourism. 

The 2024 Maldives boycott is the most recent previous example, but there have been other smaller boycotts. At the time, many Indian agencies saw a sharp dip in bookings, however, it only lasted for a few months.

Still, that moment was a wake-up call. “Maldives was our biggest market,” Ganapathy recalled. “We faced a big crunch at that time, but it revived back in six months. That was out of our control.”

“We’ve been sharing detailed updates with our customers to reassure them,” said Ganapathy. 

Are travel tech platforms redirecting customers and looking to retain business from those looking to head to Turkey or Azerbaijan? Ganapathy said that most of the users are retaining their original travel dates for other countries, or switching to ‘safer’ destinations like Greece, Morocco, and Southeast Asian countries. 

International Travel Is Not The Core Revenue Stream

While the suspension of bookings to Turkey and Azerbaijan has caused ripples in the international travel ecosystem in India, the financials of leading OTAs suggest that international bookings form only a small fraction of their overall revenue. In fact, the bulk of their earnings is still rooted in domestic travel—especially in flights, rail, and buses.

According to ixigo’s Q3 FY25 results, revenue from the air travel segment stood at INR 41.1 Cr, comprising approximately 40% of the company’s total operating revenue of INR 101.7 Cr. 

However, the majority of this flight revenue comes from domestic bookings, where volumes are high, and users are increasingly price-sensitive. 

ixigo’s core strength continues to be in train and bus bookings, particularly through its acquisitions ConfirmTkt and AbhiBus, which cater primarily to India’s non-metro population.

EaseMyTrip shows a similar pattern. From its Q3 FY25 earnings, the company reported INR 157.08 Cr in operating revenue, with the air segment being the primary contributor. However, majority of it still would be coming from domestic consumers 

“Honestly it’s not a big number if you look at it. If you just consider air ticket margins, they are really less if we’re taking Turkey and Azerbaijan into account. Not to mention, the suspension won’t last long,” a senior management personnel told Inc42. 

“Majority of international travel booking still happens directly from airline websites, as it’s comparatively cheaper. The move from travel agencies is more from a marketing perspective, they won’t be facing major losses from this,” he added. 

Others believe that this is not the first time that foreign affairs superseded commercial logic, and this won’t be the last time either.