Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico – According to Allianz’s Thanksgiving 2020 travel report, although holiday travel volumes have fallen compared to recent years, North Americans who do plan to travel are likely headed to Mexico.
Allianz reviewed travel plans for flights leaving U.S. airports from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1. The company analyzed 632,757 itineraries, which it said was about on par with other industry estimations that Thanksgiving travel was down about 75% compared with the same period last year (in 2019, Allianz’s Thanksgiving travel report analyzed 2.4 million itineraries).
For the sixth consecutive year, Mexico will attract more Americans for Thanksgiving than any other international destination, with Cancun, San Jose Del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta taking the top three spots. In comparison with 2019, Cancun moved up one spot while San Jose Del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta each jumped up by four places.
“Always a popular destination, Mexico has been a leader in tourism recovery since COVID-19 began. The country’s accessibility and safety protocols like restricted capacity at resorts to enable proper social distancing may be helping to drive demand, along with the promise of a warm weather escape,” the Allianz report says.
This year all top 10 international locations are beach destinations, a first for Allianz’s Thanksgiving index since it was launched in 2015, with European holiday survey mainstays London and Paris notably absent and facing travel restrictions.
Following the top three Mexican destinations, Americans are planning trips to Aruba; Santo Domingo and Santiago, both in the Dominican Republic; Jamaica’s Montego Bay; Providenciales in Turks & Caicos; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and, rather surprisingly, Havana, Cuba, given the travel restrictions Americans face in travel the Cuba.
Domestically, New York fell from the No. 1 spot, which it has held since 2016, to No. 2, supplanted by Seattle. Los Angeles landed in spot No. 3, followed by Dallas, Boston, Orlando, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and Las Vegas, according to Travel Weekly.
CONSOLIDATED LAUNCH
The report states that the day before the Thanksgiving celebration, Wednesday, November 25, will have the highest demand for departures to domestic destinations. Saturday, November 21, is the most popular departure date for those with international destinations, so a day of continuous arrivals is expected at the Puerto Vallarta International Airport.
Despite the pandemic, Puerto Vallarta’s tourism recovery is showing improvement, with 710 flights from the United States arriving in the month of November, compared to 697 arrivals during the same period of 2019, that is, an increase of 1.86 percent.
There are 15 air connections – departing from Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Newark – that will bring travelers from the United States to Puerto Vallarta this month.
CANADIAN MARKET
For its part, the Canada also brings very good news. A recent Expedia study indicates that Canadians are already planning trips for 2021, and their searches are largely focused on southern beaches. Among the most popular is Puerto Vallarta, which is a favorite destination for Canadian travelers who consider it a warm refuge, due to its sunny climate and the hospitality of its people.
On the Expedia list for the Canadian market, Puerto Vallarta takes first place for Mexican Pacific vacation destinations and is in second position in general rankings, just after the Riviera Maya. Other beach destinations on the list are Hawaii and Orlando in the U.S.
This great news is enhanced by the announcement by Air Canada about its luxury product, “The Jetz Experience,” through which flights will operate from Vancouver to this destination from December 21-28, 2020.
As reported by the airline, the flights will be made in private jets that were regularly rented by magnates, artists and even hockey teams, but in the context of the pandemic, they’ve created charter flights (with healthy distancing) on these luxury aircraft.
The only Pacific destination for these flights is Puerto Vallarta, and the hotels that will be participating with packages are: Casa Velas Puerto Vallarta, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, Secrets Vallarta Bay, The Hacienda at Hilton Puerto Vallarta Resort and Villa Premiere Boutique Hotel & Romantic Getaway Puerto Vallarta.
Currently, there are five direct connections to this destination from Canada, with flights departing from Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary. The airlines operating these routes are: Air Canada, Swoop, Transat and WestJet.
“This news from the main tourist markets of Puerto Vallarta confirm that the destination is generating confidence in travelers; that its qualities of being Mexico’s Most Mexican Port, a friendly, attractive & diverse city, and is now also safe due to the comprehensive prevention actions of the tourism sector and the community in general,” said Luis Villaseñor, interim director of the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Promotion and Advertising Trust.