Puerto Vallarta has emerged as the top Mexican tourist destination in terms of hotel occupancy for two consecutive weeks, according to data from the DataTur platform of the Federal Ministry of Tourism (Sectur). The city achieved an impressive hotel occupancy rate of 85.0% in week 9 of this year, spanning from February 26 to March 3. This figure surpasses those of other renowned destinations such as Cancún, which reported an occupancy rate of 84.6%, and Los Cabos, with 83.7%.
The statistics indicate a clear preference among tourists for Puerto Vallarta, positioning it ahead of not only major beach destinations but also prominent colonial cities like Querétaro, which only managed a 58.1% occupancy rate, securing fourth place in the overall ranking. This highlights a significant gap between Puerto Vallarta and its closest competitors.
This is not the first time Puerto Vallarta has topped the charts; it also led in hotel occupancy during week 8. Initially, it was thought to have maintained the highest occupancy in week 7, however, revised data later awarded that week to Cancún with an 83% occupancy rate, slightly above Vallarta's 82.5%.
Puerto Vallarta has consistently been a preferred choice for visitors this year, leading the weekly occupancy rates in weeks 1, 5, 6, 8, and now 9. The city achieved its peak performance in the first week of the year, with an average occupancy rate of 87.3%, the highest recorded thus far.
Despite Puerto Vallarta's strong performance in individual weeks, Cancún holds the lead for the highest average occupancy rate over the first nine weeks of the year, at 82.46%. Puerto Vallarta closely follows with an average occupancy rate of 81.97%, underscoring the tight competition among Mexico's leading tourist destinations.
The data provided by DataTur reflects the dynamic and changing preferences of tourists visiting Mexico and highlights the importance of the tourism sector to the economy of regions like Puerto Vallarta. As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how these trends evolve and which destinations will emerge as favorites among travelers.
