Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Puerto Vallarta’s annual LGBT event "Vallarta Pride" will take place this year on the weekend of May 22nd to 26th, increasing the 3-day weekend event into a 5-day-long cultural celebration of municipality and its international population. The event will include music festivals, beach parties, fashion shows, mass commitment ceremony, and activities in participating bars and clubs.

Puerto Vallarta offers a gay-inclusive atmosphere in its Romantic Zone area which is home to many businesses that are LGBT-owned and/or target the consumer - including scads of restaurants, bars, and clubs. There are also tours, activities, and beaches that cater to the gay community.

LGBT travelers also have the option of choosing from many gay friendly resorts, hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and guest houses.

Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located, approved a civil union law last year that allows co-habiting same-sex couples to register their union with the state and allows for certain rights including, among others, that of inheritance, property ownership, and medical rights.

A member of the "International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association," Puerto Vallarta has been a preferred LGBT friendly destination in the Americas for over 60 years. It has an infrastructure that is frequently included in leading media and on gay friendly destination lists, including: Out Magazine, TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, Out Traveler, Passport Magazine, and Gay.com. It is also the only Mexico destination on the Huffington Post's "Gay Voices Top 10 LGBT Honeymoon Destinations."

Puerto Vallarta will also be hosting the "International LGBT Business Expo," Latin America’s leading LGBT travel business conference and consumer expo from June 12th - 14th.

The host hotel will be the Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa and more than 400 international, Mexican, and local businesses interested in targeting the LGBT market are expected to gather for the three-day B2B trade show and networking event. Participants will include representatives from airlines, hotels, tourism offices, tour operators, travel agents, international media, international organizations, and governmental offices.