In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Luis Villaseñor, Director of the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust.
What news can you give us about the destination in terms of connectivity?
In terms of connectivity we have managed to make progress. The Puerto Vallarta-Guadalajara highway was finally opened, which reduces the journey between one point and the other to 2 and a half hours, and makes us more accessible to the center, the state capital, to the west and to the north. We are very happy because it will undoubtedly help us continue to be leaders in occupancy in the coming months.
During Easter we were the destination with the best occupancy and, without a doubt, beyond the work achieved, connectivity and this new accessibility option have been very favorable. Before it was four hours to reach Guadalajara, and now it is 2 and a half hours for national, internal and regional tourism.
Regarding interair connection, we have a new flight with the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) , which allows us to connect with 25 city-destinations, including Bogotá. We continue to grow and on the international front, Puerto Vallarta today is the third airport in the country that enters the most foreigners after Cancun and Mexico City.
The results achieved had a lot to do with the Canadian market. This year Canada came with great force, for example, the WestJet airline is flying until April with two Dreamliners a day, there are 300 passengers each; one daily flight from Calgary, and one daily flight from Vancouver, in addition to the other flights to other cities.
We have a growth in foreigners' income of around 5%, and we are precisely here in Tianguis to continue communicating these news. We want you to know that we are better connected both by land and by air and we aim for Puerto Vallarta to continue being a leader in occupancy in the coming months.
And in terms of hospitality, are there new projects?
Yes, a couple of weeks ago a new hotel called Tryst was announced, which is the second one they have opened, the first is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is a boutique hotel focused on the LGBT+ community. The romantic zone was opened and a hotel in Yelapa continues to be paid for for the wellness theme called Sanctuary. Sunset Plaza's upcoming opening with a new tower, Breathless hotel is coming next year. On the other hand, Westin is becoming all-inclusive, the Marriott chain is now starting with the all-inclusive option, the hotel has been renovated. Recently as we shared, there is a new glass viewing platform on the mountain that opened a month ago. It is all glass, to take photos.
As for markets, what about the American market?
It's still number one and it still grew. But if we talk about the one that grew in greater capacity, it was the Canadian one for this winter. Then with England we also have a weekly flight to Manchester. It is a charter with Tui, and obviously we are still working on getting closer to both Europe and South America.
What is the situation with the rest of Latin America?
Last year we were attending Argentina and Colombia, because today they are the two markets that have generated the greatest flow of tourists to the destination, but we did it within the framework of the Gala event. We are making alliances with Volaris to enhance the markets where they also fly, such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru. And with Aeroméxico, we work in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The intention is to continue generating visibility for Puerto Vallarta. We continue talking with Wingo and other airlines seeking to create the necessary operating conditions to forge more connectivity.
And does the Puerto Vallarta Airport have expansion plans?
An expansion is coming that will be larger than planned. They have added space to the terminal due to the growth in arrivals and departures, and that work is expected to finish in March of next year.