That Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit are growing is an undeniable fact. The number of real estate developments under construction throughout Banderas Bay are testament to the increasing popularity of Mexico’s second beach destination. But, equally as important in analyzing whether or not to invest in a vacation property or second home, are the tourism numbers and infrastructure investments the destination undertakes. The real estate sector and tourism numbers are closely and intrinsically related.

We detail some of what visitors and investors in Vallarta can expect over the next 12 months:

This new year kicked off with both challenges and opportunities for the destination: tourism leaders must rise up the to challenge of maintaining the current tourism bonanza with high hotel occupancy rates, a strong economy and the continued creation of jobs across all tourism related sectors.

Preliminary reports from Datatur, a division of Ministry of Tourism, indicate that 2018 closed with an average annual occupation of 71.86 percent of Vallarta’s 12,864 registered rooms (357 more rooms than in 2017). Meanwhile, the city’s airport, the “Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico”(GAP) reported an influx of 4,760,000 air passengers at the end of the year, 66% international and 34% national from 53 routes (41 international and 12 domestic). The city is betting on a continued tourism boom and has reportedly designated resources for major improvement to passenger waiting lounges in the coming year.

The new maritime terminal “Puerto Magico” will be consolidated offering an improved experience to passengers with a “Tequila Hacienda” attraction. The investment in cruise ship visitors to the city is justified by the increasing daily spend of the passengers which in 2018 stood at $98 USD per person. This tourist season alone 170 cruises are expected while this January the Puerto Vallarta maritime terminal is expecting a whopping 25 cruise ships with three triple arrivals and a quadruple docking on the 30^th of the month.

Additionally, the hotel industry continues to invest to update or expand facilities to meet the needs of the most demanding of visitors. The hotel association reports new projects in the south area in Grand Park Royal and Garza Blanca Sur, while new airlines are to increase the connectivity of the destination with other cities in North America.

This January, the airline Swoop began flying to Vallarta from Hamilton, Ontario, and will soon have a flight from Abbotsford, British Columbia, bringing up to 12,000 more Canadians to Bahia de Banders to April 27, 2019. Copa Airlines is expected to increase visitor numbers from Central and South America and the Caribbean, as demand for travel to Vallarta-Nayarit grows in the region.

According to Álvaro Garciarce, the president of the Hotel Association of Puerto Vallarta and the Fidecomiso (the Destination’s Tourism Trust), the most pressing challenge is not so much to increase the number of visitors, but rather to increase the visitor spend while in the destination. According to Garciarce hoteliers and tourism service providers are constantly innovating and renovating their services, products and facilities to help increase the economic benefit to the destination.

The first quarter of the year will be a profitable one for Puerto Vallarta, which has seen three years of continuous growth. January 2018 closed with 85.46 percent of hotel occupancy, almost a percentage point higher than in 2017.

Additionally, a large contingency of North American and Canadian temporary residents, who spend the winter here, and with international travelers who are attracted by vast array of attractions (whale watching, adventure travel) and events (Gourmet Festival, Banderas Bay Regatta, Vallarta Pride) that Puerto Vallarta has to offer. These “snowbirds” help buoy the real estate market with increase demand for vacation rental accommodation.

Real estate agents in Puerto Vallarta are confident the boom will continue because Vallarta has solidified its position as a formidable and attractive destination. To learn more about the real estate forecast for the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit contact a NuHome agent for a consultation.