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Travel costs — not safety concerns — are the leading reason travelers are skipping Puerto Vallarta this year, according to results from an informal poll circulated in the online community group The Gayborhood Puerto Vallarta.
The poll, launched Aug. 12, drew 1,027 responses from members who said they did not visit Puerto Vallarta this year, visited less often than usual, or are considering skipping the destination in 2027.
The poll was started by Chad Simpson, co-admin of the group and a Puerto Vallarta-based travel agent. In his opening post, Simpson said the group had noticed a decline in Puerto Vallarta tourism this year and wanted to know why.
While the poll is not scientific, it does give some insight into how some in the LGBTQ+ community are thinking about travel to Puerto Vallarta.
“We acknowledge that Puerto Vallarta tourism has decreased this year, and we wanted to see if there are any reasons that we weren’t considering,” Simpson wrote. He asked members who chose a different destination this year to explain why, requesting “constructive criticism only.”
Of the 1,027 responses, 687 — about 67% — cited travel costs as a factor in staying away. Simpson broke that category down further: general travel cost complaints accounted for 389 responses, flight costs for 138, the sense that “PV is too expensive” for 121, high rental costs for 24, and the weak exchange rate for 15.
Image and reputation concerns were the second-largest category, drawn from 156 responses, or about 15%. Within that group, 57 people said Puerto Vallarta’s “vibe” has changed or that the destination feels overdeveloped, 44 pointed to insufficient infrastructure and sewage issues, 24 cited trash and cleanliness, 17 mentioned escorts and fake massage offers, eight cited power, water and Wi-Fi outages, five described bad experiences with condo rentals, and one cited a bad prior visit overall.
Safety concerns accounted for 53 responses, about 5%, including 31 general safety concerns, 14 who cited police harassment or “fines,” and eight who cited beach safety or fear of crocodiles.
Logistics issues drew 44 responses, nearly all tied to bad flight availability and layovers. A separate 43 responses cited financial concerns, split between having no money to travel this year and general worry about the economy. Another 44 respondents said they chose a different destination altogether, without specifying why.
Rising Costs Aren’t Unique to Puerto Vallarta
Higher travel costs are not a Puerto Vallarta problem alone. Airfare has climbed broadly heading into 2026, with several travel-industry trackers reporting sharp increases in both domestic and international ticket prices this year.
Mexico’s own fees have also risen. The country raised its federal immigration fee for international visitors from $35 to $42 in 2025, along with a smaller increase to the fee charged for immigration services on international departures. Puerto Vallarta is adding another layer starting in January 2026: a new municipal tourist fee of about $7, or 160 pesos, that officials say will be collected through hotels, the airport and the cruise terminal.
Simpson shared fare breakdowns from recent Puerto Vallarta bookings showing how much of a ticket is taxes and fees rather than airfare. On one round-trip fare, Mexico-imposed charges included a $73.37 international airport departure tax, a $56.24 tourism tax and a $13.28 immigration fee. A separate one-way booking listed a $73.37 departure tax, a $14.80 transportation tax and a $13.28 immigration fee, with combined U.S. and Mexico taxes and fees totaling $153.18 for all passengers on that itinerary.
The exchange rate has also moved against U.S. travelers this year. The dollar weakened against the peso through 2026, trading near 18.1 pesos in late March and closer to 16.9 pesos by late August, a decline of roughly 6%. That shift means the same peso-priced hotel room, meal or excursion in Puerto Vallarta now costs American visitors more in dollar terms, independent of any local price increases.
Given the events of Feb. 22, 2026, in Puerto Vallarta, one might have expected safety to rank as a bigger concern in the results. The numbers told a different story.
“Travel costs, by far, are discouraging people from returning to PV. We also have the lack of direct flights, [high] flight prices, and the rising overall costs in PV due to inflation, exchange rate, cost of goods, and general demand which are hurting tourism,” Simpson explained. “We do have some image & reputation concerns that need to be addressed as well.”
What Still Draws Visitors to Puerto Vallarta
Despite the added costs, Puerto Vallarta’s pull as a destination hasn’t faded, and recent outside research backs that up.
Condé Nast Traveler ranked Puerto Vallarta No. 2 on its “Best Small Cities in the World” list for 2025, published Oct. 20, 2025, based on a vote of more than 757,000 readers. The magazine cited the city’s sunsets over Banderas Bay, cobblestone streets, award-winning restaurants and arts scene, year-round warm-weather beaches, and direct flights from more than 40 North American cities. Puerto Vallarta was the only city in the global top 10 recognized as a major LGBTQ+ destination, ranked ahead of Mykonos, Ibiza and Tel Aviv.
A 2023 survey by Airbnb and the IGLTA Foundation, presented at IGLTA’s Global Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, named Puerto Vallarta among the Latin American destinations LGBTQ+ travelers most want to visit, alongside Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, San Juan, Bogotá and Medellín. That survey found 35% of LGBTQ+ travelers ranked feeling accepted as a member of the community as their top factor in choosing a destination, ahead of safety at 30% and affordability at 30% — a preference that may help explain why Puerto Vallarta keeps drawing visitors even as costs climb.
Simpson said that appeal still shows up in the day-to-day.
“We do have tourism for the culture, the quality of restaurants and hotels, etc., but we also have a large amount of tourism looking for value that they can have fun, drink, and eat cheaper than at home,” Simpson said. “Rising airline and PV prices have changed the ‘value proposition’ for coming to PV, especially for a quick weekend.”
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