Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Oct. 7, 2026 — Mexico’s Tourism Ministry is evaluating all 177 Pueblos Mágicos, with findings due in November as the 25-year-old program enters a new phase.
The final evaluation stage runs through October and November. Results are expected during the National Meeting of Pueblos Mágicos in Tampico, Tamaulipas, from Nov. 26 to 29. Sectur says the review will help establish an improvement plan based on each destination’s characteristics and needs. The national meeting will bring together representatives of the country’s 177 designated towns.
The review comes with a significant planning gap. Tourism Secretary Josefina Rodríguez Zamora said at an Oct. 5 forum that only 28% of the country’s Pueblos Mágicos currently have a tourism development plan.
Jalisco’s 12 Pueblos Mágicos are part of the review
Jalisco currently has 12 destinations carrying the designation: Lagos de Moreno, Cocula, Sayula, Talpa de Allende, San Sebastián del Oeste, Mascota, Ajijic, Mazamitla, Tapalpa, Temacapulín, Tequila and San Pedro Tlaquepaque, according to the state’s current tourism listings. The complete Jalisco Pueblo Mágico list is published by the state tourism agency.
For Puerto Vallarta readers, three of those destinations have a direct regional connection to the city.
Our review of current state tourism material shows that Puerto Vallarta is marketed within the same “Del Mar a la Montaña” tourism region as San Sebastián del Oeste, Mascota and Talpa de Allende. The state promotes the area as a route connecting the Pacific coast with the Sierra Madre Occidental. Jalisco’s regional tourism page pairs Puerto Vallarta with the three mountain Pueblos Mágicos.
That regional connection includes familiar Puerto Vallarta landmarks such as the Malecón and Zona Romántica on the coast, with San Sebastián, Mascota and Talpa marketed as inland extensions of a Vallarta-area trip.
Puerto Vallarta itself is not a Pueblo Mágico. The federal review is therefore not an evaluation of Puerto Vallarta, but it will include destinations that the state government promotes alongside the city to visitors.
The evaluation started before this month’s announcement
The national review is not beginning from scratch.
In August 2025, Sectur reported that technical information had been collected from all 177 Pueblos Mágicos. The federal strategy identified sustainability, infrastructure, professionalization, promotion and commercialization as five areas for strengthening the destinations.
That work followed a broader restructuring of the program under the current federal administration. PVDN has previously examined the process behind earning Pueblo Mágico status in Mexico.
The October-November evaluation moves that process into a destination-by-destination assessment. Sectur says it will use the findings to develop improvement routes in coordination with municipal and state governments.
Planning and digitalization are central concerns
Rodríguez identified tourism planning as one of the program’s largest weaknesses during the Huasca de Ocampo forum.
“A Pueblo Mágico cannot be managed by the municipality alone,” Rodríguez said, arguing that state and federal governments must also participate. The quote has been translated from Spanish.
She also pointed to gaps in digital payments and online visibility among tourism businesses. Some operators still lack electronic payment systems, websites or social media tools used by travelers to find and purchase tourism services, according to reporting from the forum.
Digitalization has already formed part of Sectur’s national strategy. The ministry launched programs in 2025 to give businesses in Pueblos Mágicos training, digital tools, and greater access to financial services.
November could reshape the Pueblo Mágico program
Rodríguez said the November discussions will also address the program’s future size, including whether the existing 177 designations remain and whether additional towns will receive the Pueblo Mágico name.
The federal announcements reviewed by PVDN do not announce a designation change for any specific Jalisco destination.
Sectur instead describes the evaluation as a way to identify weaknesses and establish improvement plans for individual communities.
The program carries substantial economic weight. According to figures released with the anniversary announcement, Pueblos Mágicos generated an estimated 35.275 billion pesos in tourism spending in 2025, up 3.7% from 2024. Estimated spending reached 20.795 billion pesos during the first seven months of 2026.
Hotel data collected through DataTur cover only 50 of the 177 destinations. Those monitored Pueblos Mágicos received 7.87 million tourists during 2025 and 4.58 million from January through July 2026, according to Sectur.
