NEW YORK — The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board wants agents to know that the recent update to the Canadian Foreign Affairs Department’s Jalisco travel warning does not include the city of Puerto Vallarta.
The Canadian Government continues to advise travellers to “avoid non-essential travel to the areas of Jalisco that border the states of Michoacán and Zacatecas” (http://travel.gc.ca/destinations/mexico). The U.S. State Department issued a similar warning.
Both warnings highlight that Puerto Vallarta is a major travel destination in the state of Jalisco and do not indicate the need for caution or recommend against travel to the city of Puerto Vallarta, says the tourism board.
The areas of Jalisco that are included in the warning are on the border with Michoacán and Zacatecas, some 400 kilometres, or a four-hour drive, from Puerto Vallarta. “This is a distance similar to New York to Boston, Los Angeles to Las Vegas or Toronto to Ottawa.”
The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board says it proactively monitors the destination’s security and regularly contracts international firms that specialize in tourism security to conduct assessments of the city and its many attractions and services.
Assessments completed in 2011 –2015 found that Puerto Vallarta continues to offer a safe and friendly small-town feel for both its visitors and local residents.
Puerto Vallarta adds that it will continue to invest in its infrastructure and services to ensure the safety of its residents and visitors.
Puerto Vallarta closed a record year in 2015 with a reported average of 65% occupancy throughout 2015. Almost 2.5 million U.S. and Canadian visitors travelled to Puerto Vallarta by air and land and 3.5 million visited as cruise passengers, its best performance since 2008. The city’s meetings, conference and events industry saw a 200% increase with 59 international events taking place across the city.
The destination also reported a record year in investment from the private sector with five new hotel openings, four new direct flights from the U.S., three meeting and events spaces and major renovations to its international airport (PVR), cruise port and Downtown Zone.
