Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Puerto Vallarta has been gaining ground in the international cruise industry in recent years, and this year is no exception with arrivals to the port city expected to increase 26% over the 2014 cruise season.

Last year 120 cruise ships anchored in Puerto Vallarta, but this year the port authority has a total of 139 arrivals already confirmed for 2015.

Arturo Ganem, a Representative for Carnival Cruise Lines in Mexico, stated that there is an increased interest in Puerto Vallarta cruises within the industry. So much so that Carnival is officially back in the business of year-round sailings to the Mexican Riviera, and Puerto Vallarta is included on each of them. Carnival last offered year-round sailings to the Mexican Riviera in 2012. The Carnival Miracle has sailed to the region seasonally since then but has also spent part of the year in Alaska.

The security that Puerto Vallarta offers its visitors has been a major factor in cruise lines' decision to add calls to this destination, which is in competition with new ports in Central and South America, Asia and Oceania.

According to Puerto Vallarta's Maritime Terminal Director, Miguel Angel García Beltrán, there are 105 cruise ships already confirmed for next year, making 2016 projections even stronger than those for 2015. He also said that the Port Authority is working on a $400 million peso modernization of the port's infrastructure and cruise terminal facilities.