Puerto Vallarta received almost 223,000 international cruise passengers in the first quarter of 2023, as reported by the National Port System Administration (Asipona). This is more than double the number of passengers registered in the same period of 2022 (103,644 passengers, from 57 cruises). 

In January alone, the port saw the arrival of 32 cruise ships, bringing traffic of around 90,000 passengers. In February, 19 cruise ships brought just over 60,000 passengers to Puerto Vallarta. And in March, Asipona registered 72,537 tourists on 22 ships. 

The average passenger spends US $120 during their stay in the city, according to data 

At this year’s Seatrade Cruise Global – the cruise industry’s leading annual convention –  Puerto Vallarta’s representatives announced they expect a total of 200 cruise ships to arrive during the 2023 cruise season. Puerto Vallarta is a port of call for Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity Cruises and Disney Cruise Line, among other cruise lines. 

Puerto Vallarta is one of the most popular beach destinations in Mexico, ranking third in arrivals by air to Mexico during January and February this year, just behind Cancún and Mexico City. 

According to data from the Tourism Ministry, in 2022 the Pacific coast city ranked fifth in number of cruise passenger arrivals, after the ports of Cozumel, Majahual, Ensenada and Los Cabos.

These five ports receive 94.6% of all cruise ship passengers arriving in Mexico. 

With reports from Líder Empresarial, Secretaría de Turismo, Tribuna de la Bahía