Mexico's global air connectivity continues to grow at an impressive rate with the addition of 1.5 million seats on direct flights to the destination in 2018, the Mexico Tourism Board announced Tuesday. The increase is expected to result in a total of nearly 30 million seats by year's end.

The growth will allow the world's sixth-most-visited country to keep up with strong demand. A record-breaking 10.6 million tourists visited during the first quarter of 2018, representing a more than 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Nearly half of the 39.3 million international visitors to Mexico in 2017 traveled by air.

"Increasing air connectivity is a critical component of our tourism growth strategy," Enrique de la Madrid, Secretary of Tourism, stated. "The expansion of air routes not only offers visitors from all corners of the globe better access to all that Mexico has to offer, it also solidifies Mexico's appeal to the business sector. Mexico is a world of its own, and the demand for access to its beaches, vibrant cities and magical towns is a winning proposition for the airline industry."

The destination's connectivity strategy aims to increase the number of tourist arrivals from markets such as China, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and India. New routes include Hainan Airlines' first-ever service from Beijing to Mexico City via Tijuana and Emirates Airlines' service between Dubai and Mexico City via Barcelona.

Notable new air routes in North America include Boston to Mexico City, Chicago to Guadalajara, New York to Mexico City, Philadelphia to Mexico City, Sacramento to Los Cabos, San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, San Francisco to Cancun, San Jose to Los Cabos and Vancouver to Mexico City.

Sixteen new direct routes in Mexico will also contribute to the seat growth.

Mexico added 2.6 million seats over the course of 2017 to reach 28 million overall.