In the weeks and months after Operation Sindoor and the hostilities that followed, Indian tourist traffic to Turkey and Azerbaijan, two countries which came out in Pakistan’s support during the conflict in May, fell drastically, according to their latest available tourism statistics.

Between the two countries, the drop in the number of visitors from India has been steeper for Azerbaijan, which saw a 56 per cent decline in footfall from India during the May-August period, while Turkey registered a 33.3 per cent drop.

Azerbaijan and Turkey were fast gaining popularity as tourism destinations for Indians and the number of Indian travellers visiting the two countries had grown considerably in recent years, with direct flight connections also seeing a rise. Istanbul is also a major aviation h

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