Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies is launching a new service to Mashhad, Iran, from Sept. 1, marking its second gateway into the country. Emirates will operate to Mashhad with five weekly services utilizing an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Majid Al-Mualla, divisional SVP commercial operations, centre, Emirates, said: “Mashhad’s addition to our global network will enable us to provide flexibility and choice for customers creating new inbound and outbound markets for tourism. We look forward to boosting traffic in and out of Mashhad and drawing in visitors from a host of points across our global network including cities in Europe, India, Pakistan, the GCC, as well as Far East destinations like Bangkok.”

Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran and attracts more than 2 million foreign visitors per year. Due to its proximity to Central Asian countries, Mashhad hosts numerous international exhibitions each year and is the second most active exhibition center after Tehran.

The country also has 17 UNESCO-registered world heritage sites and plans to boost its total Travel and Tourism contribution to GDP to $ 8.9 billion by 2024 (7.5 percent of GDP), according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

Emirates services to Mashhad will be operated by a combination of a three-class and two-class configured A330-200.

Travelers from the United States looking to stop in Dubai before embarking on their onward journey to Mashhad can avail the Dubai Stop Over package, which includes stays at world-class hotels, sightseeing, among other activities.

Travelers from Mashhad will be able to connect to leisure destinations such as Istanbul and Bangkok, as well as thriving business destinations in India, Europe and the Far East.

In addition to passenger operations, Emirates SkyCargo will offer 17-ton cargo capacity each way between Dubai and Mashhad on the A330-200.