Turkey’s Tourism Board Is Betting Indian Cultural Ties Can Outrun Politics
Photo Credit: Hot air balloons in Cappadocia, Turkey. Pexels / Taryn Elliott
Skift Take
The harsh stance of Indian travelers against Turkey is not dampening the Middle Eastern country’s spirits and efforts in reaching out to this market. Instead, it is looking at ways to bypass the nationalism-driven sentiments, and catch demand where it can.
Turkey’s tourism board is looking for new ways to entice more Indian travelers nearly a year after the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir provoked tensions between Turkey and India.
“The India market means a lot for Turkiye,” a spokesperson of the Turkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) told Skift. “The Indian market is growing rapidly in terms of outbound. And we see in the roadshows that everyone is working to have more share from this huge market.”
Over the past three years, Indians account for a tiny share of the tourism to Turkey – at around 0.5-0.6% of inbound tourism to the country.
That number seemed to be dipping of late due to geopolitical tensions. In May 2025, an Islamist terror attack on Hindu tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, killed
