Summer 2023 was below expectations for Vallarta restaurants

According to Jorge Carbajal Diaz, president of the National Chamber of Restaurants and Seasoned Food Industry (CANIRAC), Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit, and Costa Alegre exceeded 2022 numbers for hotel occupancy and flight volume during the recently ended summer vacation season. However, this was not reflected in the number of diners at its eateries.

The restauranteur noted that although the travel statistics showed an increase over the summer vacations, the number of diners at Puerto Vallarta’s restaurants started to prematurely decline in August.

The fact that Puerto Vallarta started to recover in 2021 and 2022 while other beach destinations did not is one of the reasons they did not perform as well as in previous years. As a result, the number of diners and tourists increased. However, now that all the tourist centers are operating normally, there is competition.

In addition to the fact that the hotels’ all-inclusive program is still hurting business, they are also looking for strategies to outcompete other beach towns in luring visitors.

With reporting by Brenda Beltrán for Tribuna de la Bahía.