PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) – Puerto Vallarta is gearing up to receive an influx of Canadian visitors this winter season. The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust has announced that the city will see an increase in flights from Canada starting from October, thanks to a significant expansion of services provided by WestJet, the country’s second-largest airline.
This winter season, WestJet will operate flights from 12 Canadian cities to Puerto Vallarta’s International Airport, with a total of 53 operations per week. These cities include Abbotsford, Calgary, Comox, Edmonton, Kelowna, Prince George, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg. With this surge in flight operations, the airline will offer 19% more seats to the region compared to last year.
The Vancouver-Puerto Vallarta route, in particular, will see a significant boost with the inclusion of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which can accommodate up to 320 passengers. This expansion will greatly benefit Canadian tourists looking to escape the winter cold and enjoy the warm hospitality and diverse outdoor activities that Puerto Vallarta has to offer.
In the past season, WestJet operated a total of 183 monthly flights to Puerto Vallarta, a number that is expected to increase to 212 for the fall-winter 2023-24 season. Puerto Vallarta continues to be a favored sun and beach destination for the Canadian market, as evidenced by its growing popularity.
According to a report by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), the Puerto Vallarta International Airport has already welcomed over 4.2 million passengers in the first seven months of 2023, marking a 14.8% growth compared to the same period in 2022. National passenger traffic for the month of July reached more than 302,000, up 7.9% from last year. The accumulated number of domestic visitors for the first seven months of the year now exceeds 1.7 million.
Despite a slight decline in international arrivals for July 2023, with 264,000 passengers compared to over 278,000 in 2022, the overall growth for the year stands at 14.3% with more than 2.5 million international tourists visiting Puerto Vallarta from January to July 2023.
As Puerto Vallarta gears up to welcome an influx of Canadian tourists, it’s clear that this coastal city remains a popular choice for those seeking a warm and vibrant destination to escape the winter chill.
