Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - On September 29, 2018, Puerto Vallarta will officially have a new sister city: San Francisco, California!

Initiated in 1956 by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Sister City program is a dedication of friendship and understanding between people from different cities around the world. By forming these relationships, Eisenhower reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences and build partnerships that would lessen the chance of new conflicts.

Also known as "twin towns," Sister Cities also have more practical applications, like trade agreements and business partnerships. This 'twinning' is expected to not only promote Puerto Vallarta tourism, but to also boost the LGBT segment and regional development of the technology industry.

A Proclamation Ceremony will be held here in Puerto Vallarta with representatives from both cities attending, as well as the Jalisco Secretary of Tourism, Enrique Ramos Flores, and a representative of the National Chamber of the Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies Industry (Canieti), who have been invited to discuss possible projects with companies from Silicon Valley.

According to Susana Rodríguez, who chairs the Puerto Vallarta City Council tourism committee, the process of selecting the eleven people that will make up the San Francisco-Puerto Vallarta Sister City committee was subject to a ruling and the approval of the council. Sister City committees always have a guiding theme, she said, "which, in this case is focusing on the inclusion and human rights of the LGBT community, given that both cities stand out for their acceptance and respect of this social and tourist segment."

Since San Francisco is one of the main tourism markets for Puerto Vallarta, with one or two direct flights a week throughout the year; and is home to Silicon Valley, the most developed technology hub in the United States, this new relationship will seek to expand the tourist flow, while boosting the destination's second most important industry - innovation and technology.

And, since over the last 3 decades the State of Jalisco has emerged as a center for research and development in highly specialized technologies, this partnership could be mutually advantageous.

For the director of the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Trust, Javier Aranda Pedrero, this type of partnership is relevant to strengthening the promotion of tourism to this destination in cities and regions with great potential, and ongoing contact between representatives of both destinations can strengthen tourism, cultural and business exchanges.

"Jalisco is a forerunner in the technology industry, and we believe that it is very compatible with tourism. This pairing with San Francisco could give Puerto Vallarta a new window for economic opportunities, which would be a great achievement," he said.

The Fidetur congratulates those who made possible the Puerto Vallarta-San Francisco twinning, which, both for the tourism sector and for the possibility of opening a new investment and business platform, could be one of the most important for this destination, and reach levels of benefits like those that have historically been achieved with Sister Cities Santa Barbara, California and Highland Park, Illinois.