Vallarta-Nayarit Gains Traction With U.S. and Canadian Travelers Headed to Mexico Richard Houghton - Investment Properties Mexico
go to original August 31, 2014

According to the Mexico Tourism Board, the region that encompasses Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit has emerged as one of the nation’s most popular vacation destinations in 2014.

“Business, especially from Canada and U.S. West Coast and Midwest, was really strong,” shared Richard Zarkin, public relations director for the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau.

More specifically, data shows that travel is up from the U.S. states of California, Oregon and Washington, as well as from the Denver and Chicago metro areas. Travel has also increased from the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. Although domestic travelers from throughout Mexico still make up the No. 1 market in the region surrounding Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit, U.S. travelers now account for more than 20 percent of the market, followed by Canadian visitors at around 17 percent.

Business from the UK is also continuing to grow, with new charters now offered on Thomson Airways out of Manchester and London-Gatwick, while the number of visitors from the Latin American countries of Columbia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil is also on the rise.

“We’ve not only diversified our market in Europe with the UK, but we started to do public relations in South America,” shared Zarkin. “We’re also seeing more flights and/or larger aircraft out of Phoenix, Dallas and Houston [in the U.S.].”

The upturn in foreign visitors arriving at the Vallarta-Nayarit International Airport during the first semester of 2014 reached 18.5 percent, which exceeded the numbers for Cabo San Lucas and Cancun-Riviera Maya for the same period. According to Travel Pulse, the average occupancy rates for Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit are hovering at around 67 percent so far this year, with periods that exceed 90 percent during peak travel times.

“This is a very healthy occupancy rate on a general level for a destination, and all of the hotels and businesses are benefitting from this,” shared Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, head of the Mexico Tourism Board. “That’s what it’s all about: The generation of collective wellbeing and additional jobs.”

Discovering the Vallarta-Nayarit Region

Located on Mexico’s Pacific coast in the heart of the breathtaking Sierra Madre mountain rage, the city of Puerto Vallarta and adjacent, 160-mile Riviera Nayarit corridor offer unmatched natural beauty, world-class amenities and a rich cultural heritage. A variety of spas, boutique hotels and resorts are located throughout Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit, which extends along the scenic Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Flags).

The old town of Puerto Vallarta boasts adobe homes with red roof tiles, and there are plenty of options for adventure and ecotourism in the area, including scuba diving, deep-sea fishing and kayaking, as well as first-rate golf and sailing. In recent years, Puerto Vallarta has also established itself as a center for contemporary and indigenous art, as well as for offering world-class cuisine that blends traditional with international flavors.

The region that has come to be called the Riviera Nayarit spans all the way from the town of Nuevo Vallarta, which lies just north of Puerto Vallarta, to the municipality of San Blas, which is located about four hours north. The corridor offers a unique blend of activities and destinations, including fabulous beaches, adventure tourism offerings, water sports and whale watching.

Combined, the Vallarta-Nayarit region spans a myriad of different landscapes and cosmopolitan surroundings, offering up an atmosphere of supreme peace and tranquility for visitors from around the world.