Air Canada is expanding in the Caribbean with new Puerto Rico flights.

The new route will connect the cities of Montreal and San Juan, with flights on Saturdays starting Dec. 17.

According to Ingrid Rivera Rocafort, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Air Canada will also be adding a second weekly flight to its Toronto-San Juan route beginning Nov. 19.

The latter will also operate on Saturdays.

“These routes reinforce Puerto Rico’s position as the main air access hub of the Caribbean in the international markets and make the Island more attractive as a travel destination by providing direct flight options from two of the key Canadian airports,” stated Rivera Rocafort. The increase in flights reiterates the great potential for growth in all types of niche markets and the confidence that airlines place on Puerto Rico as a five-star location in the Caribbean.

The new flights come as Puerto Rico looks to diversify its source markets for tourism beyond the United States into markets like the United Kingdom and Europe.

That push has led to new flights from carriers like Air Europa and Norwegian (with the latter continuing flights from London to San Juan) and now more flight service from the Canadian market.

“Air Canada is very pleased to expand its services to Puerto Rico for the coming winter season. Apart from introducing weekly service from Montreal to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, we are also doubling our frequencies from Toronto to twice weekly so that, overall, our capacity will increase 165 percent from last year,” said Alex Pittman, director of sales for Latin America and the Caribbean at Air Canada. “This reflects the popularity of Puerto Rico among Canadian travelers while also giving customers from Puerto Rico an opportunity to travel to Canada or connect conveniently to our international network through our Toronto and Montreal hubs.”