Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico – Puerto Vallarta’s International Airport defied the overall downward trend in March 2024 for Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s (GAP) Mexican airports, recording a 5.7% increase in total passenger traffic compared to March 2023. This positive outcome came despite a continuing decline in domestic arrivals, which fell 10.8% year-over-year in March.
Overall, the Puerto Vallarta airport attracted 756,700 passengers in March, while in the same month of the previous year there were 716,100, a difference of 5.7%. This brought the total number of passengers for the first quarter of 2024 to 2,118,700, 5% more than in 2023, when there were 2,017,800.
The strength of the international market played a key role in the Puerto Vallarta airport’s overall growth. International arrivals surged by 13.5 percent in March 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.
This upward trend continued throughout the first quarter, with international passengers reaching 1.54 million, a 12 percent increase from Q1 2023. The robust performance of international travel ultimately offset the decline in domestic arrivals, resulting in a positive overall increase in passenger traffic at the airport.
With international tourism flourishing, it appears poised to be the primary driver of growth for Puerto Vallarta in the coming months.