Last Updated
According to Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) who manages the Puerto Vallarta Airport, flight connectivity to the popular Mexican tourist destination is up 19% compared to February. American Airlines, Frontier, Southwest and United have all announced new flights to Puerto Vallarta starting this month resulting in increased frequencies and resumption of suspended routes in response to an increase in demand.
After a decrease in flights to begin 2021, Puerto Vallarta is beginning to see a recovery in its tourism sector again. 1436 flights are scheduled at the Puerto Vallarta airport for the month of March with an average of 359 weekly arrivals.
“These flights in addition to strengthening connectivity with the United States demonstrates the confidence that travelers have in our tourist destination,” Marc Murphy, general director of the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau said.
Increased Frequencies and Resumptions of Flight Routes To Puerto Vallarta
Four airlines are increasing their connectivity from the United states:
- Frontier will restart operations with two weekly frequencies from Denver
- American Airlines will double its frequencies from Phoenix, Los Angeles and Chicago
- United Airlines has increased frequencies by 28 flights from multiple U.S. cities
- Southwest will start flights from Denver and Santa Ana four times per week
While air travel to Mexico continues to rise from the United States, all flights from Canada have been cancelled due to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to ban all flights to sunny destinations and enact a hotel quarantine costing upwards of $2000 for Canadians returning home.
Americans are once again beginning to flock to Mexico due to pent-up demand, easy entry requirements, vaccination rollouts and increased connectivity.
While Puerto Vallarta experienced a spike in Covid-19 cases at the beginning of 2021, hospitalizations are now declining with occupancy averaging 20.4%.
Puerto Vallarta has now reopened all businesses including hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
The increased demand in flights for Puerto Vallarta shows that travelers confidence in the safety of the destination is being restored. Puerto Vallarta has obtained the Safe Travels seal issued by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), for complying with the hygiene and sanitation protocols.
While Puerto Vallarta has been the tourist destination in Mexico that has struggled the most in recovering its tourists, the city is hopeful the increased connectivity is a sign of a strong recovery to come. Puerto Vallarta is still down 58% in hotel occupancy compared to last year. Comparatively, Cancun is down 48% while Los Cabos is only down 44%
In order to keep cases low over the Easter week, Puerto Vallarta will tighten Covid-19 related restrictions including closing beaches at 5:00 pm as well restaurants and bars must close by 11:00 pm.
Read More:
Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19
↓ Elevate Your Travel↓
Sign Up Now For Travel Off Path Premium! No ads, VIP Content, Personal Travel Concierge, Huge Savings, Daily Deals, Members Forum & More!
✈️Join Our Travel Off Path Community Forum: Where travelers unite, ask questions, share experiences and even find like-minded travel buddies!
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR LATEST POSTS
Enter your email address to subscribe to Travel Off Path's latest breaking travel news, straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.