The Mexican State of Jalisco promoted its tourism at GALA Puerto Vallarta-Riviera Nayarit

In this 29th edition, which was the largest so far, Travel2latam had the opportunity to talk with the Secretary of Tourism of the State of Jalisco, Claudia Pérez Lamas.

What is the tourism situation of the destination?

We have practically been the busiest destination in Mexico for a few weeks and for several holiday periods repeatedly. Finally, the destination has an installed capacity, and the challenges lie in the management of services and mobility. However, we are prepared to receive the demand that is coming to the destination. 

An issue that greatly affects Puerto Vallarta is child sexual abuse. How is progress being made here regarding this? 

We know that we are a sector that has a great impact on being able to improve the conditions of this problem, which we really would not want to have in the destination, but which occurs for some reason, much more so in beach destinations. We have the national code of conduct course available online. At any time, anyone can start and finish it without depending on whether that course starts on any date. It is very important for us to make this type of knowledge and professionalization available. We will seek to make this initiative, through the legislative and state power, mandatory for hotels.

At this time there is no initiative that I know of that is mandatory. However, I believe that this issue is everyone's will. It is a problem that hurts us all, so we should all be committed to destiny and society interested in solving it. I continue to invite the sector to continue participating in training and being able to have an impact towards eradicating this problem. 

What are your expectations for Gala?

This year we have very interesting numbers, we have formally registered a little more than 170 professionals and around 5,000 appointments have been agreed upon, these are some of the best numbers we have had in recent years. We have some formally specialized sections that were a little more dispersed before. We have the part of the luxury segment, of romance with international wedding planners, some professionals who provide services, particularly the golf segment, which is an important topic in the destination and that allows us to generate a certain influx in different times. Golf does not necessarily follow the vacation season, and it is important for us to diversify in those segments. 

LGBT+ also has a specific and very relevant place. And the magical towns that are already a repeated occasion that accompany us, have been identified as an addition to the tourist offer that our beach destinations have. They are not competition, they are complements. In addition, of course we have Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit, and in general terms the tourist looks for a beach destination, lands at an airport, goes to a hotel, and enjoys the beach. They do not understand if there is a dividing line between one destination and another. We perfectly understand this tourism dynamic, in terms of the function of the tourism ministry, and I believe that it is the closest thing to the private sector that exists within the government.

We have products and segments, markets with supply and demand, we move by it and not by politics. Together with the Secretary of Tourism of Nayarit, we understand very well that we have a joint product to sell and that we have to take coordinated actions in order to both be successful.

What is the relationship with the US and Canadian market, and what are they doing in Europe to attract travelers?

We are looking to expand our participation in the North American market. Although they are natural markets, we do not really have the entire United States market, we are in territory much more towards the west coast. That is, the entire part of California is where we have the greatest participation, but we continue to seek to promote other domestic markets within the same country. The same thing happens with Canada. 

Our connectivity is important, the direct flight that we have Guadalajara-Madrid has been a great light to show that a direct flight to other destinations that are not only Mexico City can be successful. The airline itself was pleasantly surprised. They have 85% occupancy and started the year with 91%. That is a huge opportunity for Puerto Vallarta, and it gives us a great possibility of being able to have a direct flight perhaps with a view to 2025 to a destination in Europe that allows us to connect this market with our beach destination.

What is the situation of investment in infrastructure?

Hotels and investment are important. It is no secret that the one with the most territorial reserves to grow is Nayarit. Puerto Vallarta is quite consolidated in terms of the territorial reserves it has in front of the beach, and our greatest growth in investments is towards the South Coast, that is, the Costa Alegre of Jalisco. Let us remember that Jalisco has more than 300km of coastline and it is not only Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta is our most mature and important destination in the entire country, but in general terms a higher growth rate is where there is more territorial reserve.