There have been calls to ‘Boycott Turkey’ and ‘Boycott Azerbaijan’ because these countries support Pakistan and its position on Kashmir. Turkey has also given arms support to Pakistan. A similar situation happened with the Maldives in early 2024. At that time, Mohamed Muizzu, who is now the President of Maldives but was a candidate then, was seen wearing “India OUT” T-shirts.
This caused a strong reaction. Some online travel agencies said they would stop taking bookings for Maldives, just like companies such as Cox & Kings and Ixigo have stopped bookings for Turkey. Soon after, the Indian Prime Minister visited Lakshadweep, which became a popular new tourist spot. Many hotel chains invested there, and airlines started new flights to Lakshadweep.
More than a year later, the ‘Boycott Maldives’ seems to have worked. The number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives dropped by 37% in 2024 compared to 2023. In 2024, only about 1,30,805 Indians visited Maldives, while in 2023, the number was 2,09,193. In early 2025, Indian tourist numbers dropped even more, by nearly 8%. This happened even though the Maldives opened many new hotels and overall tourism there grew by 20% in 2024. India is now only the sixth biggest source of tourists for Maldives. China, Russia, and the United Kingdom are the top three countries sending tourists. In fact, Chinese tourists to Maldives increased by 40% in 2024, reaching 2,63,340 visitors. Before COVID, in 2019, China was the biggest source of tourists, and India was second.
Impact on Flights
Data from Cirium, a company that studies aviation, shows that flights between India and Maldives dropped by 17.6% in December 2024 compared to December 2023. This led to 17% fewer seats available on these flights. Since China, Russia, the UK, Italy, and Germany are the top markets now, Indian airlines still have a chance to bring tourists through Maldives as transit passengers.
Indian airlines have not been badly affected because they moved their planes to other routes where more people want to fly. Indian airlines are also dealing with problems in getting enough planes due to supply chain issues, even though they added many new planes last year.
Geopolitical Effects
Because of fewer Indians going to Maldives, countries like Thailand and Malaysia gained more Indian tourists. Both countries now offer free visas when Indians arrive, like Maldives used to do. Flights between India and Thailand increased by nearly 40% in December 2024 compared to the previous year. Flights between India and Malaysia went up by 21%, and new flights to tourist-friendly places like Penang and Langkawi started.
India’s large population and growing middle class who can afford to travel are very attractive to neighboring countries. Many ASEAN countries usually depended on tourists from China, but because China still has travel restrictions, these countries are now focusing on Indian tourists by offering good deals.
What’s Next?
There are signs that relations between India and Maldives are improving. The two countries share more than just tourism ties. The drop in tourists caused airlines to reduce flights.
About Turkey, IndiGo airline said it is following the rules of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, so it hasn’t broken any laws. Over 5 lakh passengers flew between India and Turkey in 2024 on direct flights, with many traveling onwards to other places. Istanbul is a popular spot for Indian travelers. Will this change because of the boycott? If the boycott against Turkey or flights through Turkey continues, airlines might need to lower ticket prices or find other routes.
