Operation Sindoor Boycott Effect: Turkey Takes The Brunt, Indian Tourists Down 24% This May | Exclusive

Last Updated:June 24, 2025, 06:30 IST

Official Turkey tourism figures show that against 41,554 tourists from India, who went to the country last year, the number is down to 31,659 this May

Visitors pass by the Hagia Sophia, an ancient church and mosque, and now a museum, in the Sultanahmet Square area of Istanbul. (Image: PTI/Shutterstocl)

Indian tourists going to Turkey saw a sharp 24 per cent drop in May as compared to the same month last year – a month when tourism to the country is at its peak.

Against 41,554 tourists from India, who went to Turkey last year, the number is down to 31,659 this May, official Turkey tourism figures show.

 This comes in the backdrop of Turkey’s role in aiding Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which came to light on May 9 when India revealed that Turkish-made drones were used by its neighbouring country for an attack.

The debris recovered by India showed that these were SONGAR ASISGUARD drones of Turkey. This is the first national armed drone that has been used by the Turkish armed forces.

It prompted boycott calls for Turkey in India and travel portals like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip said they will not promote Turkey tourist packages. The impact of the same is slowly but surely showing as only 31,659 Indian tourists visited Turkey this May as compared to 41,554 in May last year.

May and June are peak tourism months for Indians to go on a vacation. Last year, the number of Indian tourists to Turkey went up from 31,934 in April to 41,554 in May and stood at 38,307 in June. This year, however, the number of tourists visiting Turkey in May was 31,659 — almost the same as 30,169 last month. The figures in 2025 could be worse for June as the full boycott impact shows up.

“Indian tourists usually book their vacations much in advance so the real impact of the drop in tourism may have only shown in the second half of May. June could be worse on this front for Turkey," a senior government official told News18.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Cyprus while enroute to Canada for the G7 Summit. This was a major message to Turkey as that country has had a long-standing border dispute with Turkey.

Modi and the President of Cyprus visited the historic centre of Nicosia, where they were given a guided tour along the United Nations ceasefire line, a symbol of the island’s long-standing division. The President also showed Modi the mountainous region in northern Cyprus, which has remained under Turkish occupation since 1974.

India strongly suspects that Turkey supplied drones to Pakistan when a C-130E Hercules Turkish plane had landed in Karachi on April 28, less than a week after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. On April 30, a high-ranking Turkish military and intelligence delegation, headed by Lt Gen Yasar Kadioglu, visited the Pakistan Air Force headquarters in Islamabad and met the chief of staff.

Even in its stance and statements after the Pahalgam terror strike, the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a full pro-Pakistan line. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir also visited Turkey to thank Erdoğan for support during tensions with India during Operation Sindoor.

Aman Sharma

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....Read More

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....

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