‘50% travel bookings' for Turkey, Azerbaijan from India cancelled over Pakistan support amid boycott calls
Amid calls for boycotting travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan, flight bookings to these two nations have dropped by 60 per cent in the last one week and cancellations surged to 250 per cent, MakeMyTrip said on Wednesday.
The two countries had openly supported Pakistan after India launched air strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Following this, Indians launched a campaign on social media to boycott travel to Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
'Indian travellers have expressed strong sentiments over the past one week, with bookings for Azerbaijan and Türkiye decreasing by 60 per cent, while cancellations have surged by 250 per cent during the same period,' a MakeMyTrip spokesperson stated.
'In solidarity with our nation and out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this sentiment and advise all against all non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Türkiye,' the spokesperson said, adding that the company has already discontinued all promotions and offers on its platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations.
Speaking to ANI, former president of Travel Agents Association of India Jyoti Mayal said up to 50 per cent of the bookings made for Turkey and Azerbaijan from India have been cancelled. "We have helped and supported Turkey and Azerbaijan a lot in the tourism sector. We must show our displeasure over how they have behaved with India. We are not supporting travel to these countries," she said.
Indian armed forces had conducted Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians, mostly tourists, were killed.
During the India-Pakistan conflict, Istanbul had expressed its solidarity with Islamabad and supported its proposal for an international investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack. Turkey had also supplied military weapons to Pakistan.
Azerbaijan, in its statement on India-Pakistan tensions, has echoed the Pakistani line.
Echoing the call for boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan, EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti on Wednesday said the national interest comes first and the business interest later.
'As a company, EaseMyTrip, we always think of the nation first and business later,' Prashant Pitti told ANI.
'In the events which are happening right now, where there is an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, even though there is a ceasefire, the ceasefire is also getting violated. We are seeing countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey standing on the wrong side of history. Pakistan is clearly caught at the funeral of UN-designated terrorists,' he added.
Pitti also said that since the boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan campaign gathered steam, 22 per cent of people have cancelled their bookings to Turkey, and another 30 per cent have cancelled their flights to Azerbaijan.
In early 2024, EaseMyTrip had cancelled bookings for the Maldives after India's ties with the archipelago soured following some derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against India and its leadership.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
5 minutes ago
- Economic Times
KKR-backed IVI to buy ART Fertility Clinics for $450 million
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel KKR-backed IVI RMA Global, a US-based leader in infertility treatment, is set to acquire ART Fertility Clinics for $400-450 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition marks a significant step in IVI RMA's global expansion, adding India to its presence in over 15 countries and more than 190 clinical offices across the US, Europe and Latin parties are in the final stages of documentation for a shareholders' agreement and are hoping to wrap up the transaction by June with private hospitals, the IVF industry in India too is witnessing consolidation as several private equity funds have been aggressive with acquisitions. In 2023, Swedish fund EQT Partners acquired a significant majority stake in Indira IVF, the largest provider of fertility services in India and top five globally in terms of annual IVF cycles, at a $1.1 billion ('9,000 crore) Fertility Clinics began in 2015 as IVI Middle East, an international arm of IVI RMA Global. In 2020, IVI RMA divested the business to Gulf Capital, which rebranded it as ART Fertility Clinics. Since then, the brand has rapidly grown, expanding across West Asia and clinics in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain in the UAE as well as 11 centres across India, ART Fertility has established itself as a high-performance network in reproductive medicine. The Indian expansion began in 2021, backed by a $30 million investment from Gulf Fertility operates in big Indian cities including Mumbai, Noida, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and by Suresh Soni, former co-founder and CEO of Nova IVF Fertility, ART Fertility reports a pregnancy success rate of 70% and has recorded over 5,000 successful pregnancies in under nine to sources, ART Fertility posted revenue of $100-120 million in FY25, with an estimated Ebitda of $35 million."For an Indian healthcare player, a $25-35 million ebitda which is borderline ebitda positive coming from the Middle East would add no value," said a fund manager at a Mumbai-based private equity firm that operates a pan-India IVF chain. "However, IVI being a US player where multiples are low, adding a Middle East business works well."IVI RMA trumped a rival bid by Temasek-backed Cloudnine Hospitals.A KKR spokesperson declined to comment. IVI RMA and ART Fertility did not respond to is the advisor in the is rapidly emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing markets for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). However, the sector has scope for expansion at 210 IVF cycles per million people, compared with 1,200 in the US and over 2,000 in affects approximately 15% of Indian couples, a figure expected to rise due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, stress, late marriages, and to EY, India's IVF market is expected to grow from $793 million in 2020 to $1.45 billion by 2027, at a projected CAGR of 15-20%.India sees around 300,000 IVF cycles annually, with projections suggesting this could grow to 500,000-600,000 cycles by 2030. About 30% of the market is controlled by 10-15 organised players, while the remaining is fragmented among smaller, unorganised clinics. Key players in India's fertility sector include Indira IVF, Nova IVF, Oasis IVF, Bloom Fertility Centre, Bengaluru-based Milann, Morpheus IVF, Ridge IVF, Akanksha IVF and Bourn Hall IVF, the second largest player in India, is owned by Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), the single specialty hospitals platform backed by GIC and homegrown PE fund Kedaara Capital owns a minority stake in Oasis Fertility, while Brussels-based fund Verlinvest owns a controlling stake in Ferty9 F, a premier chain of fertility clinics in the AP/Telangana region.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Carpet area of new flats in Mumbai 43% less than super built-up — biggest gap in country
Mumbai: Apartments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) have the highest 'loading' factor — difference between super-built-up area and carpet area — among the top seven Indian cities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to data collated by ANAROCK Research, MMR has a loading factor of 43%. As an example, a 1,000 sq ft flat will have a living area of under 600 sq ft. "Earlier, super built-up areas were the norm for quoting and marketing, which often overstated the liveable space. While the conversation around square footage continues in the sales room across the table, the focus in advertising appears to have shifted from actual flat sizes, which was more prevalent in earlier years, to taglines such as 'spacious 2 BHK' in advertisements and on hoardings,'' said Prashant Thakur, Regional Director & Head - Research & Advisory, ANAROCK Group. "RERA mandates that all mentions of size must be only based on carpet area. This is strictly mandated in Maharashtra, so marketing has had to adapt to steering the messaging around features and amenities instead. Buyers have become more conscious of shrinking liveable spaces and rising loading percentages," he added. Amid the rising demand for state-of-the-art amenities within housing projects, the 'loading' factor has been on the rise across the top cities. MMR continues to see the highest loading— difference between super-built-up area and carpet area— among the top 7 cities with 43% in Q1 2025. The region has seen the average loading percentage grow steadily over the years —from 33% in 2019 to 39% in 2022, and 43% in Q1 2025. Bengaluru has seen the highest percentile jump in average loading over the last seven years, from 30% in 2019 to 41% in Q1 2025. In 2022, it was 35%. This dovetails with the increasingly higher saturation of modern amenities that developers now include to cater to the higher lifestyle ask in the IT hub. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Chennai, on the other hand, has the least average loading rise in Q1 2025 with 36%, aligning with a city-specific demand profile where homebuyers prefer to pay more for usable space within their homes rather than for common areas. In 2019, Chennai's average loading percentage was 30%, like Bengaluru. It gradually rose to 32% in 2022 and further to 36% in Q1 2025. In NCR, average loading percentage rose from 31% in 2019 to 37% in 2022, and 41% in Q1 2025. In Pune, it was 32% in 2019, rose to 36% in 2022, and stood at 40% in Q1 2025. Hyderabad saw an average loading percentage increase from 30% in 2019 to 33% in 2022, and to 38% in Q1 2025. Kolkata too saw its average loading factor increase from 30% in 2019 to 35% in 2022, and further to 39% in Q1 2025. "While RERA now requires developers to mention the total carpet area provided to homebuyers, no law currently limits the loading factor in projects. Q1 2025 readings show that 60% of total space within their apartment that homebuyers in the top seven cities pay for is livable space, the remaining 40% is common areas – elevators, lobbies, staircases, clubhouses, amenities, terraces, and so on. The average loading percentage was 31% back in 2019," said Thakur. "Today, higher amenity loading has become the norm across most projects, partly because homebuyers are no longer satisfied with basic lifestyle amenities - they expect fitness centres, clubhouses, park-like gardens, and grand lobbies. Collectively, these features may improve comfort, community livability, and also resale value; however, homebuyers effectively lose on actual usable space within their apartments, " he said. Essential infrastructure in modern housing projects now typically includes more lifts with bigger passenger capacities, amplified utility areas, and fire escapes that meet regulatory safety protocols. In high-density urban developments, optimizing space for both private and shared use is crucial for a better living experience and long-term value, making some level of extra loading an inescapable fact of life. "Respective state RERAs should ideally enforce provisions wherein each project clearly mentions how much buyers are paying for the total usable space within the apartment, and for the amenities," the ANAROCK report said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
KKR-backed IVI to buy ART Fertility Clinics for $450 million
KKR-backed IVI RMA Global, a US-based leader in infertility treatment, is set to acquire ART Fertility Clinics for $400-450 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition marks a significant step in IVI RMA's global expansion, adding India to its presence in over 15 countries and more than 190 clinical offices across the US, Europe and Latin America. Both parties are in the final stages of documentation for a shareholders' agreement and are hoping to wrap up the transaction by June end. As with private hospitals, the IVF industry in India too is witnessing consolidation as several private equity funds have been aggressive with acquisitions. In 2023, Swedish fund EQT Partners acquired a significant majority stake in Indira IVF, the largest provider of fertility services in India and top five globally in terms of annual IVF cycles, at a $1.1 billion ('9,000 crore) valuation. ART Fertility Clinics began in 2015 as IVI Middle East, an international arm of IVI RMA Global. In 2020, IVI RMA divested the business to Gulf Capital, which rebranded it as ART Fertility Clinics. Since then, the brand has rapidly grown, expanding across West Asia and India. Live Events With clinics in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain in the UAE as well as 11 centres across India, ART Fertility has established itself as a high-performance network in reproductive medicine. The Indian expansion began in 2021, backed by a $30 million investment from Gulf Capital. ART Fertility operates in big Indian cities including Mumbai, Noida, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Led by Suresh Soni, former co-founder and CEO of Nova IVF Fertility, ART Fertility reports a pregnancy success rate of 70% and has recorded over 5,000 successful pregnancies in under nine years. According to sources, ART Fertility posted revenue of $100-120 million in FY25, with an estimated Ebitda of $35 million. "For an Indian healthcare player, a $25-35 million ebitda which is borderline ebitda positive coming from the Middle East would add no value," said a fund manager at a Mumbai-based private equity firm that operates a pan-India IVF chain. "However, IVI being a US player where multiples are low, adding a Middle East business works well." IVI RMA trumped a rival bid by Temasek-backed Cloudnine Hospitals. A KKR spokesperson declined to comment. IVI RMA and ART Fertility did not respond to queries. Moelis is the advisor in the transaction. India is rapidly emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing markets for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). However, the sector has scope for expansion at 210 IVF cycles per million people, compared with 1,200 in the US and over 2,000 in Europe. Infertility affects approximately 15% of Indian couples, a figure expected to rise due to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, stress, late marriages, and pollution. According to EY, India's IVF market is expected to grow from $793 million in 2020 to $1.45 billion by 2027, at a projected CAGR of 15-20%. India sees around 300,000 IVF cycles annually, with projections suggesting this could grow to 500,000-600,000 cycles by 2030. About 30% of the market is controlled by 10-15 organised players, while the remaining is fragmented among smaller, unorganised clinics. Key players in India's fertility sector include Indira IVF, Nova IVF, Oasis IVF, Bloom Fertility Centre, Bengaluru-based Milann, Morpheus IVF, Ridge IVF, Akanksha IVF and Bourn Hall Clinic. Nova IVF, the second largest player in India, is owned by Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), the single specialty hospitals platform backed by GIC and TPG. Similarly, homegrown PE fund Kedaara Capital owns a minority stake in Oasis Fertility, while Brussels-based fund Verlinvest owns a controlling stake in Ferty9 F, a premier chain of fertility clinics in the AP/Telangana region.
