Privately-owned Iranian airline, Mahan Air, has made its first foray into the holidays market by opening an office dedicated to leisure in Dubai’s travel district, Deira.
Mahan Destinations will offer holiday packages to a number of destinations served by Mahan Air’s network, particularly top-sellers such as Bangkok, flights to which are jam-packed.
However, the company is also keen to promote tourism to Iran, which boasts a diverse range of attractions, from the lush green Caspian Sea area and the mountain ski resorts north of the country’s capital, Tehran, to historical and cultural cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz, where visitors can gain insight into Persia’s ancient civilisation.
Mahan Air boasts an extensive domestic network and can therefore cater to inbound tourism better than most.
“There are a huge number of GCC nationals who come to Iran every year,” explained Mahan Air’s director of international affairs & route development, Hossein Hosseini. “We think there is an untapped market for a holidays product and there is true potential for this country to become a tourism destination.”
He said the winter ski market was a key growth area, with some resorts just three hours by road from Tehran.
“We have just booked a group to ski. We are not ready for mass tourism, but for small-scale, absolutely,” he added.
A Mahan Destinations brochure will be ready to hit the racks by March.
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