The summer vacation period hasn’t officially started but tourists are already flocking to Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast.

In fact, the destination is almost full, the director of the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust said in an interview with CPS Noticias.

Luis Villaseñor Nolasco noted that hotel occupancy has reached 90% on recent weekends and observed that over 1,000 flights are scheduled to touch down in the city during the first half of July. He said that tourism is expected to be up 10% compared to the same period of 2021.

Domestic and international tourists are contributing to the high demand for flights and tourism services in Puerto Vallarta.

“The connectivity with the United States has been maintained,” Villaseñor said, adding that Puerto Vallarta is also well connected to cities in northern and central Mexico, including the capital.

“We’re now connected to the three airports in the metropolitan area,” he said, referring to the Mexico City, Felipe Ángeles and Toluca airports.

The airline Aeromar is now offering up to five flights per day from Guadalajara, giving tapatíos, as residents of the state capital are known, another option to get to Jalisco’s premier beach destination.

“The expectation is … to exceed the 72% [hotel occupancy] we had [in July] last year. We expect to achieve it because we have the conditions [to do so],” Villaseñor said.

The tourism official said that road links also play an important role in getting tourists to Puerto Vallarta. “Many of the regional [tourism] wholesalers and bus lines increase operations [at this time of year]. … A lot of students start vacations this Friday and that will contribute to a good end to the month,” he said.

With reports from Tribuna de la Bahía