Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico - With weeks to go before the tourism "high season" begins in Puerto Vallarta, the administrator of the city's international airport, Saul Ernesto Sanabria Gibert, predicts that the number of domestic and international vacationers to arrive by air this year will reach historic highs.

In a recent interview, Sanabria Gibert said that by the end of 2016 the total number of air terminal passengers, both domestic and international, will have reached around 4 million. This is the largest number of arrivals in the history of the airport, surpassing the numbers achieved in 2008, one of the municipality's best years for tourism.

"As everyone knows, the 'high season' at the Puerto Vallarta International Airport always begins in the month of November and continues into December and the early part of the new year... This year will close with record traffic numbers, as 2016 is estimated close at almost 4 million passengers, a figure that the airport has never hit," he reiterated.

He said that in anticipation of this remarkable increase of 12 percent, the international airport has taken up the challenge and is "in constant preparation." He cited the millions of dollars that are being invested to improve the airport's customs and immigration areas, as well as aeronautical works, like the rehabilitation of platforms and runways.

Sanabria Gibert said that the favorable dollar to peso exchange rates have positively benefited the destination, as international tourists have more purchasing power - an incentive to invest in a Mexican vacation. Regarding national tourism, he said the economic impact has not been a negative one for Mexicans who regularly visit Puerto Vallarta during the summer season.

"Between hotels, condominiums, villas and bungalows, this coastal city has about 23,000 rooms, plus around 600 restaurants, each with a capacity of about 60 people, which makes Puerto Vallarta a tourist destination with great tourism capacity," he concluded.