Tehran-Phuket flights begin soon

PHUKET: A Bangkok-based tour company will run three direct charter flights from Tehran to Phuket on a trial basis beginning March 18.

The company, Homa Travel & Tour, has chartered a Mahan Air Boeing 747 for the service, Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Dubai Office Director Pramote Sapyen announced.

The three flights could bring in around 1,300 tourists from Iran this month alone.

Iran is Thailand’s most rapidly expanding inbound tourism market in the Middle East, Mr Pramote said.

Should the trial flights prove successful they could continue into April, when the low season for tourism generally begins. The flights would then resume in October this year, when tourism arrival figures begin to increase.

In 2009, 117,520 Iranians visited Thailand, up 32.8% from the previous year.

— Pimwara Choksakulpan