NEW DELHI: With tourism and trade ties on the upswing, Türkiye has sought enhanced bilaterals (flying rights) to India. The current bilaterals allow a daily flight between Istanbul and Delhi by an Indian carrier (IndiGo operates the same) & Turkish Airlines (TA) each. And as many flights between Istanbul and Mumbai. The Modi Govt has been conservative in hiking bilaterals and does so primarily when Indian carriers need the same as it wants to improve desi airlines’ share in international travel to and from India.
Türkiye ambassador to India Firat Sunel told TOI the country is becoming a “main destination” for Indian tourists and that making it easier for them to visit “is on the agenda.” “Last year about 3.5 lakh Indian tourists visited the country and this number is increasing. Similarly, interest among Turkish tourists towards India is also increasing. Bollywood movies are very popular there. Türkiye is also a destination for Indian weddings. Whenever an Indian wedding happens there, it becomes a news, the headline, because they are so colourful. People say Indian weddings: colourful country, we have to go there.”
Visitations are also rising on the back of increasing trade volume between the two countries which touched “a record $12.5 billion” in 2024. “Both sides are very keen to enhance this to $20 billion first and then double it in five years. This is a realistic target. From Türkiye, agro products, especially apples; marble; sunflower oil and dishwashers are the top items. In fact, last year one of the top imports to India were dishwashers.”
And from India, vehicle equipment, vehicles and mineral oils are the main exports to Türkiye. “In coming years Turkish hazelnuts will be among the top imports. I am sure everyone in India will know about them. Haldiram started new items with Turkish hazelnut,” Sunel said.
“Tourists need two things — nice hotels and nice connections. So far it’s (direct connectivity) is okay but the planes are full. Whenever you want to book a seat to Türkiye, you see most of the seats are already gone. The way numbers are increasing, four daily flights wouldn’t be enough,” he said, adding, “Turkish Airlines flies to maximum destinations globally. It can connect India westwards better than any other airline. It is not just about flying people between Türkiye and India but between other countries and India on Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines is keen to increase flights, both frequency and destinations (in India). This (increasing bilaterals) is on our agenda.”
Indians with a valid US, UK, Ireland and Schengen visa can apply for Türkiye e-visa online. “The e-visa is cheaper and very fast. But even the other (offline application) visa can be obtained in 3-5 days. Our consulates in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad work very hard,” the ambassador said, adding,” Making it easier to visit is on the agenda.”
Türkiye saw 6.2 crore international visitors last year and $61.1 billion of revenue from tourism. The visitor number was 9.8% more than 2023. Emerging markets like India played a key role in this growth, with Indian arrivals rising by 20.7%. Russia, Germany and UK remained Türkiye’s top three biggest source markets.
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