Over 800 members of the Ahmedabad-based Jain Lotus Group have canceled their post-Diwali travel schedule to Turkey after citing Turkey’s recent pro-Pakistan stance as the reason for the cancellation. The group had planned a 12-day trip, which has now been canceled.
The Jain Lotus Group decision follows a broader trend of Indian tourists calling off travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The two nations had reaffirmed their support for Pakistan in the wake of increased tensions between India and Pakistan over Operation Sindoor and the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Azerbaijan released a formal statement in support of Pakistan’s views on the conflict, while Turkey supported Islamabad’s call for an international investigation into the Pahalgam incident. Turkey is also reported to have supplied weapons to Pakistan in the past.
A MakeMyTrip spokesperson informed Reuters that bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan fell by 60% in the last week, while cancellation rose by 250% in the same time period.
The Jain Lotus Group of more than 1,000 couples had decided to go to four destinations in Turkey such as Cappadocia and Istanbul post-Diwali. They were to travel in batches of 80 every three days, rather than all at once.
Vipul Shah, treasurer of the group, explained to Mid-Day that it was on moral grounds that the trip was canceled. “We have canceled the trip because of this. We were to take 800 members of our Jain Lotus Group to Turkey after Diwali. We were planning a 12-day, 11-night tour. We had decided to visit four places in Turkey, including Istanbul and Cappadocia.”
He also added, “But given the present scenario between Pakistan and India, our president and joint secretary, along with our core committee, considered all individual thoughts and together decided that we would not travel to Turkey to sightsee, a country which favors our nation’s rival, Pakistan.”
Shah ended by reiterating their feeling of patriotism: “We cannot fight war as an army, but we can do this much for the country, right?”