Turkish Airlines currently operates 14 weekly flights, aiming to offer travellers more options by increasing this number to 28.
Ahmet Olmuştur, chief commercial officer of Turkish Airlines, said increasing connectivity with India aligns with the airline’s goal of providing comprehensive travel options for potential visitors.
Türkiye’s popularity as a holiday destination has grown among Indian travellers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first half of 2024, the country received 165,000 Indian visitors, including travellers from tier 2 and 3 cities, a 33.2% increase from a year ago.
Among the tourist hotspots in Istanbul are Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar. Some visitors seek to explore Cappadocia’s unique rock formations, Pamukkale’s travertine terraces and thermal springs, the resort town of Bodrum, and Antalya’s beaches and ancient ruins.
“We are strategically planning to expand our routes to major Indian cities, tapping into the rising demand for international travel there,” said Olmuştur. “India has emerged as a pivotal market for Turkish tourism, and we anticipate this trend to continue growing annually.”Türkiye is also emerging as a preferred location for HNI weddings in India.Ralph Radtke, general manager and regional vice president of Kempinski Hotels, said, “I consider myself the godfather of Indian weddings in Turkey. It all began when steel tycoon Pramod Mittal’s daughter married at Çırağan Palace Kempinski in 2011. Today, approximately 20% of the 70–80 weddings the hotel hosts each year are for prominent Indian families…”
To tap the increase in outbound travel from India, nations such as Türkiye, Thailand and Azerbaijan have started wooing holidayers, promising them a unique experience—from wellness retreats to adventure trips.
Last year, about 28.2 million people flew out of India, collectively spending about $28 billion on foreign trips, according to a FICCI-Nangia knowledge paper titled ‘Navigating Horizons: The Rise and Future of Indian Outbound Tourism’.
According to officials, Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism aims to push up the Indian arrivals figure next year to 350,000.
Turkish officials are optimistic about the growth potential of the India-Turkey tourism corridor and are trying to forge collaborations with India’s travel ecosystem, particularly in areas like tourism marketing, agent partnerships and cultural exchange programmes.
“We have collaborated with the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) to strengthen ties with the Indian travel industry,” said Olmuştur. “This partnership aims to foster deeper cultural exchanges and provide Indian travel agents with first-hand experience of Türkiye as a destination, thereby promoting travel between India and Türkiye.”
Overall, Türkiye received 55 million international visitors last year, with Germany, Russia and the UK being the top source markets, but now the focus is also on attracting more visitors from emerging markets like India.
To attract Indian travellers during peak seasons, Turkish Airlines offers special packages, including the Stopover Program, with free hotel stays in Istanbul for long layovers, and the Touristanbul Service, providing complimentary tours of Istanbul’s landmarks and dining for international transfer passengers with layovers between 6 and 24 hours.
(The correspondent was in Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish Airlines)
