BJP MP and Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Praveen Khandelwal
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SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
BJP MP and Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Praveen Khandelwal said that the traders body will hold an important discussions with business leaders in Delhi on Friday to decide whether the trade agreements with Turkey and Azerbaijan should be “terminated.”
Speaking with ANI, Kahndelwal said, “Tomorrow, business leaders from across the country are gathering in Delhi. We (CAIT) will decide whether trade agreements with Turkiye and Azerbaijan should be terminated.”
Khandelwal also said that the CAIT had written a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu, requesting that the code-sharing agreement between our airline agencies, especially between IndiGo and Turkish Airlines, should be re-examined and cancelled. This comes after CAIT, on Wednesday, called upon Indian traders and citizens to completely boycott travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan in response to their open support for Pakistan amidst current hostilities.
CAIT has long been running a nationwide campaign to boycott Chinese products, which has had a considerable impact, and it now intends to extend this movement to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The organisation will coordinate with travel and tour operators and other relevant stakeholders to intensify this campaign.
CAIT Secretary General and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk, Praveen Khandelwal, made this appeal on Wednesday and emphasised that a travel boycott by Indian citizens to Turkey and Azerbaijan, in protest against their support for Pakistan, could significantly affect the economies of these countries, particularly their tourism sector.
Citing 2024 data, Khandelwal highlighted that Turkey received around 62.2 million foreign tourists, with approximately 3,00,000 tourists arriving from India alone. This marked a 20.7 per cent increase in Indian tourists compared to 2023.
Turkey’s total tourism revenue stood at $61.1 billion, with each Indian tourist spending an average of $972, amounting to a total estimated Indian expenditure of $291.6 million, the trader’s body added. He stated that if Indian tourists boycott Turkey, the country could suffer a direct loss of approximately $291.6 million. In addition to this, the cancellation of Indian weddings, corporate events, and other cultural programs would cause even further indirect economic losses.
Speaking about Azerbaijan, Khandelwal noted that in 2024, the country received about 2.6 million foreign tourists, of whom around 2,50,000 were Indians. The average spending by an Indian tourist was 2,170 AZN, which is approximately $1,276, leading to a total Indian contribution of roughly $308.6 million. A boycott by Indian tourists could therefore result in a direct loss of this magnitude, he added.
Published on May 15, 2025