Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - There's always so much going on in Puerto Vallarta and around Banderas Bay, it can be difficult to keep up with it all. So we've put together a brief overview of some of this week's headlines from local Spanish language newspapers, a few breaking Mexico news stories, and a couple of upcoming events you won't want to miss.

PV Mayor Committed to Safety and Security

As part of his efforts to strengthen security in Puerto Vallarta, Mayor Ramon Guerrero Martinez has launched a municipal wide project to repair and maintain the 48 video surveillance cameras that were installed in different strategic points of the city during the previous mayor's administration. According to Prevention and Highway Police Commissioner Rogelio Hernández de la Mata, only 17 of these cameras worked at the beginning of this administration. He said that some of the cameras were only in need of maintenance, and 10 of them have already been reestablished. However, others are in poor condition and require major repairs. The work is being done by city employees in coordination with Public Works and Fire Department personnel, who will revive as many as possible so that the city will have an optimum video surveillance system at the lowest possible cost. Finally, he noted that these and other actions will be implemented throughout the city, in order to improve the safety of Puerto Vallarta, as the aim of the current municipal government is to make Vallarta the safest tourist destination in Mexico.

Cruise Ship Arrivals to Mexico Down 12.7%

The Ministry of Communications and Transport (SCT) announced that during the first five months of this year 810 cruise ships arrived at the country’s various ports. This was down from the 928 that arrived in México during the same period in 2012; a 12.7% decrease. The number of passengers during this time period decreased 13% falling from 2,381,299 in 2012 to 2,071,726 in 2013. Ports on México’s Pacific coast saw the largest decline with 247 arrivals, down 4.9% from the 329 cruise ships that arrived at México’s western ports from January through May of last year. 65.3% of all cruise ship arrivals were at the port of Cozumel. The port of Majahual, also in Quintana Roo, got 10.5% of the arrivals.

Increase in Flights to Puerto Vallarta

In order to meet the increasing travel demand, including the 861,948 air arrivals from the United States and Canada in 2012, more airlines are offering non-stop flights to Puerto Vallarta from key hubs in North America. This summer, Delta, Frontier, Aeromexico and Virgin America will offer new services to this Mexican beach vacation destination. On July 1st, Delta started offering a new daily non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta. In addition to its existing year-round non stop charter flights from 6 major US gateways, Apple Vacations has partnered with Aeromexico and Frontier Airlines to offer non-stop flights from Philadelphia, St. Louis, Rockford, Lansing and New York. Later this year, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Australia will expand their codeshare network to enable Australian passengers to travel to Puerto Vallarta and five other Mexican destinations on a single ticket. Additionally, Frontier airlines will offer nonstop seasonal service from its Denver hub from November through the first week of January 2014.

Vallarta Adds More Hotel Rooms

Puerto Vallarta's hotel infrastructure will continue to grow in 2013 with the addition of three new hotels. Although opening dates have not yet been announced, construction has started on two hotels in the Marina Vallarta area. The completely new Hotel One, with 125 rooms, and a Holiday Inn Express, with 115 rooms, will be located five minutes from Puerto Vallarta's International Airport (PVR) and will target meeting and convention visitors to the city. The hotel zone of Puerto Vallarta will also have a new AM Resorts with 450 rooms, and a Best Western opened earlier this year when the brand took over what used to be the Presidente Intercontinental. New properties have continuously opened in Puerto Vallarta. Over the past three years 7432 rooms have been added to the destination, 8184 of which are 4 and 5 Star properties.

Upcoming Events in Puerto Vallarta and around Banderas Bay
Click on titles for more information

• Last Old Town Farmers' Market of the Season

• Kaiser Maximilian Early Bird Specials

• Roberto's Hosts Acción en La Cruz Benefit

• 'The Newlywed Game' for PV Charities at No Way José!

Don't forget to vote for your favorite Puerto Vallarta restaurants in our 2013 Best of Banderas Bay Awards, right HERE on BanderasNews.com. We'll be collecting your votes in categories ranging from 'Best Breakfast' to 'Best Margarita' through December 31st, and the Puerto Vallarta restaurant with the most votes in each category will be named 'The Best of Banderas Bay' at an awards ceremony in early 2014. Click HERE to vote NOW!