BHUBANESWAR: Amidst calls for boycotting tourism and trade in Turkey, travel and tour operators in Odisha have decided not to accept bookings to the West Asian country in wake of the country’s support to Pakistan.
Several travel plans to Turkey by Bhubaneswar-based tourists have been cancelled over the past three days. Tour operators said although tourist traffic from Odisha to Turkey is not as high as Thailand, a large number of people do travel to the country and Azerbaijan, as these places are more affordable compared to other West Asian countries.
Meanwhile, reports from the Tourism department indicate that around 200 tourists from Turkey visit Odisha annually - a number that has grown since Covid-19.
Chairman of Indian Association of Travel Operators (eastern region) JK Mohanty said all travel operators under it have decided not to promote Turkey or solicit any queries from local travellers for the country or Turkish travellers to Odisha.
“This ban is in India’s national interest and sovereignty. We have had a few queries for Turkey from six to seven travellers from Bhubaneswar recently and all of them have cancelled their plans now,” Mohanty said.
City-based Sky King Holidays’ director Raman Choudhury added that although there was a growing interest among people to travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan for their beautiful locales and cheaper stay and travel, the countries’ stand on India-Pakistan war will certainly have an impact.
Meanwhile, there is no impact of ‘Boycott Turkey’ on the trade, though. Like other states, Odisha procures apples grown in Turkey for the local markets. “But the quantity isn’t large enough to have an impact on sales,” said general secretary of Odisha Byabasayi Mahasangha Sudhakar Panda.
