Although slow, tourism in Jalisco has shown some progress towards its recovery despite the third wave of infections and the state declared as high risk for contagion of COVID-19.
Puerto Vallarta International Airport received 457,100 passengers in July, 14.4 percent more than in the same month of 2019 -pre-pandemic- when it had 399,500, according to data from the Pacific Airport Group (GAP), that manages this terminal. This is the second continuous month exceeding pre-pandemic figures.
The influx of passengers helped hotel occupancy to reach 70 percent in July, close to the 77.7 percent recorded in July 2019, according to data from the Jalisco Tourism Secretariat (Secturjal).
“We are doing well, we believe that tourism has responded quite well,” said Jorge Careaga, former president of Coparmex Puerto Vallarta.
According to the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), in June of this year, the Puerto Vallarta airport received 380,500 national and international passengers, a figure that represented an increase of 2.8% compared to the 270,100 passengers mobilized in the same month of 2019, before the pandemic. Foreign tourists (221,900) growth was 11.3 percent.
“Yes we are prepared, but the challenge is to handle the greater volume, because obviously at the beginning of the pandemic the recovery was very slow and from February to here when vaccines began to have a positive effect, especially in the United States and the countries that were more advanced in their vaccination programs, a growth in tourist demand began to be noticed”, said Abel Villa last month when announcing the rebound recorded in tourism arrivals.
While tourism is seeing a rebound, many retailers and restaurants are not feeling the boom in business as tourists are more cautious about indoor activities during the pandemic, and bars and clubs have been closed during the month of August, although they are expected to reopen o, September 1, 2021.
It’s important to mention that June and July also recorded the highest rate of COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic.
