Puerto Vallarta expects the arrival of 159 cruises this year, with an estimated 172,000 people on board, bringing growth to the cruise industry in 2018.
In the first week of the year there was eight cruises in the maritime terminal including a triple arrival, and according to the arrival calendar this year, there will be seven triples, 24 double arrivals and two overnight stays, reflecting the confidence and preference of cruises to Puerto Vallarta.
In 2017 144 cruise ships arrived, in 2016 there were 143 and in 2015 134 arrived, showing a steady increase, which this year would grow between 10% and 15% according to industry experts.
Miguel Ángel García Beltrán, director of the Port Administration (API), mentioned that “the final number of vessels and the number of passengers varies as the year progresses, as some are scheduled for the last minute” so numbers are fluid.
In a statement, it was announced that the joint efforts of the tourism sector, the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust (Fidetur) together with sales agents specialized in cruise tourism, have managed to transmit security, confidence and travel expectations to know this port on the Mexican Pacific.
The surveys conducted by cruise companies and the API indicate that cruise passengers have mostly good experiences in Puerto Vallarta, so a cruise arrival represents a high probability that they will return to spend longer periods with their families.
According to statistics from the University of Guadalajara, each cruise passenger spends $85 per person in their stop in Puerto Vallarta, which will leave an annual economic benefit of more than $340 million pesos.
The first of the cruises that arrived this year was the Norwegian Star with 2,900 passengers on board; On Tuesday, January 2, the small Silver Whisper of the cruise company Silver Sea arrived with 382 people on board.
Also, the Princess Cruises with 1,974 passengers and the largest, the Ruby Princess with 3,782 cruise passengers, who stayed at the port from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Tourism Trust and the API reiterate that they will continue to work as a team in everything that represents the promotion of this destination as the most Mexican port, seeking to attract more cruisers and passengers motivated to visit Puerto Vallarta.
