PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Oct. 5, 2026 — Restaurant sales remain weak in Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas as winter hotel bookings improve, the regional restaurant chamber’s president said Monday.
Martha Leticia Parra Vargas leads the regional branch of Canirac, Mexico’s restaurant industry chamber. In an interview published Monday, she based her winter outlook on reports from hotelier colleagues.
“We have heard the figures from hotelier colleagues we know, and reservations are picking up,” Parra said in Spanish.
Closures and changes to work schedules
The weak trading period has already brought temporary closures and staffing adjustments, according to Canirac and Coparmex Puerto Vallarta.
In her Oct. 1 assessment of restaurant closures, Parra estimated that 15 to 20 establishments across the two municipalities had temporarily suspended operations. She also identified three closures she classified as permanent.
Some restaurants routinely close during the low season for maintenance, training or operational changes, Parra said. However, she said additional businesses were considering temporary closures because of payroll, taxes and other fixed expenses.
Coparmex Puerto Vallarta President Francisco Gabriel Vizcaíno Rendón described scheduled vacations and temporary rest periods as measures some employers use to avoid layoffs.
His comments, published Sept. 24, covered restaurants, tourism businesses and other service providers. He also recommended shorter menus focused on popular dishes to reduce food waste and operating costs.
Summer sales losses preceded October
Canirac’s summer survey findings put Puerto Vallarta restaurant sales between 20% and 30% below the comparable period in 2025.
Parra said surveys of member establishments showed fewer diners during July and August. According to that assessment, higher average bills at some restaurants failed to offset the decline in customers.
We covered those summer restaurant sales losses in September. The figures describe the summer comparison; they are not a separate measurement of October sales.
Airport traffic provides another measure
Our review of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s August passenger report found a 10.3% decline in Puerto Vallarta airport traffic compared with August 2025.
The airport handled approximately 426,900 passengers, down from 475,800 a year earlier, according to GAP’s preliminary figures.
International passenger traffic fell 26.3%, while domestic traffic declined 2%, GAP reported. Across January through August, total passenger traffic was 12.4% below the same period in 2025.
GAP’s figures measure airport passenger traffic. Canirac’s surveys cover restaurant sales, while Parra’s winter assessment focuses on advance hotel reservations. Those indicators cover different activities and periods.
Hotel industry also reports winter reservations
Parra’s outlook is supported by a separate hotel industry assessment.
In a Sept. 22 interview about year-end tourism, Miguel Ángel Fong González named Puerto Vallarta among beach destinations already recording winter reservations.
Fong, president of the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels, forecast occupancy near 80% for beach destinations collectively. His estimate covered several destinations and was not a separate projection for Puerto Vallarta.
Earlier surveys showed neighborhood differences
Canirac’s earlier reporting also documented differences within the region.
In its April assessment of Easter-season business, the chamber reported sales declines of up to 30% in areas including Olas Altas, Fluvial/Versalles and Nuevo Nayarit.
During those same holidays, Canirac reported gains of 10% to 20% in the Centro, Romantic Zone and Marina Vallarta areas.
