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Puerto Vallarta is busier than ever setting a new record for passenger arrivals in July surpassing 2019 levels by over 14 percent. The popular beach destination for Americans travelers is now seeing higher arrivals than prior to the pandemic.
Puerto Vallarta recorded 1847 flights in July bringing in over 475,000 passengers to the resort city. This is 14.4 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels for July of 2019. According to the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust, international arrivals also increased 5.9 percent for the month which was made up of mostly U.S. travelers.
According to the recent study by the travel analytics firm ForwardKeys, Puerto Vallarta leads national growth in the sale of flights from the United States with an increase of 68.5 percent.
August is also expected to set another tourism record with 1847 flights scheduled at the Puerto Vallarta International Airport. The United States is driving the international arrivals, which is seeing increased flights from Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Seattle, Denver and San Francisco.
Rising Arrivals and Rising Cases
The Ministry of Health in Mexico recently moved the state of Jalisco which includes Puerto Vallarta to the maximum risk level of ‘Red' for Covid-19 contagion. According to Vallarta Daily, all four public hospitals in the city are operating at 100 percent capacity for beds with ventilators. The Governor recently committed to adding more hospital beds for the sick in Puerto Vallarta.
Two weeks ago, the Governor added new restrictions for Puerto Vallarta including closing all bars and nightclubs. Other restrictions included:
- Restaurants must close by midnight
- Restaurant capacity reduced to 50%
- All large public events have been cancelled for the remainder of the year including Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
- Attendance at stadiums reduced to 33% and face masks must be worn
- Hotels must keep their occupancy below 80% and 50% in public spaces
Mexico Records Highest Number of Cases Since Pandemic Began
On Wednesday, August 11th, Mexico recorded its worse day yet in terms of the number of cases recorded. 22,711 new cases of Covid-19 were reported fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. There were also 727 deaths in the past 24 hours.
The tourism hotspots of Cancun, Cabo and Mazatlán are also seeing a record number of cases amid a strong tourism surge.
Cancun Almost Fully Recovers Reaching 2019 Tourist Arrivals
Puerto Vallarta isn't the only tourism hotspot in Mexico seeing strong arrival numbers. Cancun recorded 2.37 million arrivals in July of this year falling just shy of pre-pandemic arrivals in July of 2019 when 2.39 million arrivals were recorded.
Cancun is also seeing a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases as Mexico continues to face an unprecedented fourth wave of the pandemic. Resorts such as the Hard Rock Hotel have allocated 2 entire floors for travelers who have tested positive.
Mexico Continues To See Mass Tourism Arrivals
Despite a record number of cases, U.S. travelers are still flocking to Mexico. During the entire pandemic, the country has remained open for tourism and does not require testing, vaccine passports or quarantines for entry into the country.
Last week the Mexican President. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced at a press conference that the country would not introduce a vaccine passport or require visitors to show proof of vaccination.
“We will not require that type of proof whatsoever,” Obrador stated. “I want to be very clear about that.”
The President spoke of the protests that erupted in Europe over the use of vaccine passports and did not want to see that type of division in his country.
The only entry requirement to enter Mexico during the pandemic is to fill out an online health form declaring you are free from Covid-19 symptoms.
Mexico has estimated that over 20 million tourists will arriving in the country during the months of July and August.
Read More:
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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.
Marla Jacques
Friday 13th of August 2021
Thanks, now I’m wondering how many ventilators are being used in the hospitals to get that number of 100% capacity? What if it’s 1 or 2 machines? Kind of changes things. Was reading Mexico News Daily where their stats from Mexico hospitals are reported as 39% full with ventilators. According to the article there’s no evidence to suggest the ‘delta’ is more serious when compared to the worst cv cases reported last Jan/Feb but I’ll keep checking.