News / Tourism Board

Mexico adds 1.5M seats on direct flights in response to record-breaking visitor arrivals

06-12-2018 9:16 am

The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) announced today that Mexico's global air connectivity continues its growth trajectory with the addition of 1.5 million seats on direct flights to Mexico in 2018.

The increase in air connectivity is expected to result in nearly 30 million seats by the end of the year to accommodate travel demand to Mexico's top tourist destinations.

Record-breaking visitor arrivals

Mexico welcomed 10.6 million tourists in the first quarter of 2018, a record-breaking number representing a 12.6% increase compared to the 9.4 million documented international visitor arrivals during the same period in 2017.

Mexico is now the 6th most visited country in the world with 39.3 million international visitors in 2017, of which 18.6 million travelled by air.

Tourism revenue also grew by 7.2% in the first quarter of 2018 over the same period in 2017, reaching $6.2 billion.

"Increasing air connectivity is a critical component of our tourism growth strategy," said Enrique de la Madrid, Secretary of Tourism. "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."

Diversity is Mexico's strength

As part of its connectivity strategy, Mexico is aiming to strengthen its tourism source market diversification, increasing the number of tourist arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and India.

Several new routes like Hainan Airlines first-ever service from Beijing to Mexico City via Tijuana and Emirates Airlines service between Dubai and Mexico City via Barcelona will make Mexico more accessible to travellers across the globe.

Mexico is continuing to prioritize and grow global partnerships to accommodate the increased international popularity with a host of new air routes, including: