Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - According to Municipal Tourism Director, Carlos Gerard, about 400,000 national and international tourists visited Puerto Vallarta during the 2014 Summer vacation period, bringing the tourism numbers up 15% from the same period last year.

"We had a very good Summer season this year. In fact, based on a survey we did with a variety of two- to five- star rated hotels, occupancy was at 90% percent during the first two weeks of vacation. Some of the larger tourist hotels were at 100% occupancy, which is excellent news for Puerto Vallarta businesses because the influx of tourists not only benefitted the hotels but also the different tourism-related enterprises, such as merchants, restaurateurs, taxi drivers, and tour guides, among others," Gerard stated.

Though the number of vacationers has decreased over the last two weeks, positive figures are still expected thanks to the national tourists that come from Guadalajara and its metropolitan area, Mexico City, and Monterrey, as well as our Canadian, American and British visitors.

"This 15 percent increase over the same period in 2013 is great news for the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, as it exceeds expectations from earlier this year. It also represents the success of the Vallarta-Nayarit promotional campaign on both the national and international levels," the Tourism Director said.

"In addition to the promotional efforts, an important part of these results is the expertise and service offered by Vallarta's service providers. It is our hoteliers, restaurateurs, merchants, taxi drivers and tour guides that ensure that our visitors have an unforgettable experience that they'll recommend to their friends. This is how you create a faithful following of vacationers who return year after year and keep this number on the rise," Carlos Gerard declared.

He added that of the 400,000 tourists who visited Puerto Vallarta this summer, 15%, or about 62,500 visitors, explored Banderas Bay on one of the destination's many boat tours, while another 15% opted for land excursions like horseback riding, ATV, canopy tours, and other outdoor adventures.