Indian Wedding Planners Shift Away from Turkey: A $90 Million Loss for the Ally of Pakistan

Turkey is facing significant economic repercussions from India for its support of Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and the subsequent tensions. In response to the escalation, traders and business leaders in New Delhi have announced a complete and immediate boycott of Turkey. This move comes after India's Operation Sindoor on May 7, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Amid the calls for a boycott, Turkey's booming wedding industry is expected to take a severe hit. The backlash has prompted Indian wedding planners and families to reconsider their choices, leading many to opt for alternative destinations. “Indian wedding travellers contribute over $140 million annually to Turkey’s tourism economy, and the impact of this shift is seismic,” Nikhil Mahajan, senior representative at Kestone Utsav, a leading Indian wedding planning company, told the Financial Express. To understand the magnitude of the financial implications, let's look at the figures from 2024. In that year alone, Turkey hosted 50 grand Indian weddings, each averaging $3 million, with some reaching up to $8 million, according to a Financial Express report. These multi-day celebrations often involved around 500 guests, providing a significant boost to local vendors and tourism-related businesses. Furthermore, industry data revealed that a typical Indian wedding package for 100 guests started at €350,000 ($385,000), vastly exceeding the cost of local Turkish weddings, which generally range between $1,600 and $5,400. The Indian wedding market in Turkey has expanded nearly 300% from just 13 weddings in 2018 to 50 in 2024, generating close to $150 million last year. However, political tensions that escalated in May 2025 have already led to the cancellation of 2,000 tourist bookings and put 30 of the 50 scheduled Indian weddings for 2025 at risk. With each wedding valued at approximately $3 million, Turkey faces potential direct losses of up to $90 million from these cancellations, the report said. Beyond the financial impact, these weddings employ hundreds of local service providers—from florists to event managers—and attract celebrities and high-net-worth individuals, which helps to position Turkey as a premier luxury destination. The crisis has struck during the peak wedding season, which typically accounts for 60% of Indian weddings in Turkey. Indian weddings contributed about 3% to Turkey’s $3 billion wedding tourism revenue in 2024. The broader tourism sector, which earned $61.1 billion last year, may also experience ripple effects from this downturn. Turkey Faces Heat From Indian Traders, Retailers After traders, top e-commerce players have also begun removing Turkish brands from their platforms in solidarity with the traders’ call. According to a report in The Economic Times, Reliance-owned Ajio and Myntra have suspended sales of major Turkish apparel brands such as LC Waikiki, Koton, Mavi, and Trendyol. Earlier, business leaders from over 24 Indian states convened in New Delhi on Friday to formalize the sweeping measures, spearheaded by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 80 million traders and over 40,000 trade associations nationwide.