Chiang Mai, the popular tourist destination and largest city in northern Thailand, will soon welcome its first long-haul air link, operated by Qatar Airways.

The new non-stop service from Doha will commence on 7 December 2017, operating four times a week over the peak winter tourist season, ending in May 2018. The airline will serve the route using a large twin-aisle aircraft.

These new flights will mainly target travellers from Europe, providing new one-stop connections to Chiang Mai, without the need to transit in Bangkok.

This marks the latest phase of Qatar Airways’ expansion in Thailand; the airline currently offers five daily flights from Doha to Bangkok, twice daily services to Phuket and three weekly flights to Krabi. It will also increase the frequency of its Krabi service to daily flights later this year.

“Thailand continues to grow in popularity with holiday-makers and it’s not hard to see why. Our new flights to Chiang Mai mark our fourth route to this beautiful country, reflecting the demand from our customers for more high-quality leisure destinations,” said Qatar Airways’ group CEO, Akbar Al Baker.

“Our existing services to Phuket, Krabi and Bangkok are already incredibly popular, especially with customers from European countries such as the UK, France and Germany. Therefore, we are delighted to announce yet another destination.”

Air traffic at Chiang Mai has grown strongly in recent years, but this has mainly been driven by intra-regional demand, especially from China. Qatar Airways’ service will be the first long-haul route operating to the airport, and the first time one of the major Middle Eastern airlines has flown to the city.