Travel Advisors Report Rebounding Mexico Sales, Despite Situation in Puerto Vallarta

Perhaps it’s because travel advisors tend to work with an educated and adventurous group of international travelers. Perhaps it’s just that air travel to Europe has gotten so complicated that people are just staying closer to home. And perhaps it’s because the Middle East suddenly makes Mexico seem not very dangerous after all.  

Whatever the reason, most travel advisors this week are reporting that sales to Mexico are showing amazing resilience.  

“There’s no slowdown in Mexico demand from what I’m seeing; my clients are still booking Cancun, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya,” reports Denise Wiggins at The Healthy Traveler, an affiliate of Curran Travel, whose customers tend to buy premium and luxury brands. “After more than 40 years in the business, I can say it’s about having smarter travelers making empowered decisions. My clients are more informed, yes, but not fearful. When they have trusted guidance and real-time insight, they move forward. Mexico continues to deliver value, accessibility, and experience—and that’s resonating strongly right now.” 

And she is far from alone.  

At Travel Dreams, Gregg Welpe reports that the troubles in Puerto Vallarta did have him fielding phone calls from some concerned wedding party members headed to Dreams Playa Mujeres—but in the end, they went ahead with their plans.  

And while Phyllis Kauffman at 1 Luxury Vacation recently had a client considering Mexico switch to Jamaica, she has a group of 100 headed to the Hard Rock in June that is holding steady, and just booked a 10-day Riviera Maya honeymoon. 

“It’s business as usual,” agrees Mae Claire of Mae Claire Travel Co. And Dillon Guyer of Guyer Travel says “nothing has changed for us; about 20% of our sales are to Mexico, predominantly to all-inclusives, and our regulars seem unfazed.” Christy Cupples at Vacays by Christina reports “no interruptions. Weddings are strong.” And Margie Lenau at Wonderland Family Vacations says that while she did “have some conversations with clients about the safety of travel to Mexico, no one cancelled.” 

At Internova Travel Group’s Destination Focus in Manhattan this week, the parent of Travel Leaders Network and the Global Travel Collection noted that almost 70% of its 10 million customers are high-net-worth households who, despite all that’s going on in the world, continue to travel.  

But of course not everyone is ready to say “hola” to our neighbor to the south. At Kelgarsky Travel Inc., Kim Telgarsky says that while sales to Mexico, her number-one destination, are holding steady for 2026, five people in her group of 34 booked on Norwegian Escape, stopping in Cozumel and Costa Maya, are considering cancelling, though so far none actually have. Phillip Archer of Archer Travel says one couple told him “Mexico has lost its charm for us,” and is staying in the US of A, heading to New York this year and Alaska in 2027. And about half of the 100 respondents to a quick poll this week by the Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA) report their Q1 sales to Mexico are down from last year. 

Still, though, DWHSA executive director John Hawks said his quarterly Zoom call with the High Value Members networking group, who each sell over $1 million annually, reported steady demand for Mexico for weddings as well as romance travel in general. “Demand trends we’re hearing include solid requests for the newer all-inclusive resorts like UNICO and the renovated Hard Rock properties—but members also say they are hearing steady requests for the usual mid-market Mexico properties, as well as off-the-beaten-path destinations like Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo.” 

On a percentage basis, he added, “in terms of overall numbers Mexico remains the number-one destination of DWHSA clients every year.” 

Indeed, many travel advisors report that even among the wafflers, interest seems to be rebounding. “Yes, we have seen a dip and still do have clients not wanting Mexico, and pivoting to the Caribbean instead,” says Dream Vacations franchise owner Trapper Martin. “But for new bookings, we are seeing interest in Mexico again. Personally, my partner and I will be ending a Windstar cruise in Puerto Vallarta to check it out personally.” 

 “Over the past 23 years we have gone through a number of blips with travel to Mexico—but things always return to normal,” says Geoff Millar, owner of Ultimate All-Inclusive Travel Inc. “And with our clients, travel to Mexico has slowly returned.” 

Roy Gal at Memories Forever Travel Group says his “April/spring break travelers are going,” with no cancellations; Kristin Schombs at Magic Carpet Destinations just booked a destination wedding this week; destination weddings planner Tammi Ruffini already is getting inquiries for 2027; Erin Elliott at Majestic Memories Travel & Vacations has had one cancellations but several new bookings. 

And just last week, Bruce Mandel at Longwood Travel had 47 clients make $107,500 in final payments on Mexico trips, and booked a few more who specifically asked for Riviera Maya in November and December. 

Many host agencies also are seeing travel rebound. In its most recent discussion with advisors in the TRUE accreditation program, “many agree that agree Mexico remains a highly sellable destination, and one they continue to support,” says CCRA AVP Holly Carrig-Matthews. “We are not seeing any advisors reporting a drop in Mexico sales, and many are seeing steady bookings for the area of Cancun/Riviera Maya and an increase in bookings for Cabo, Baja California Sur. One advisor mentioned that experienced Mexico travelers typically are an easy close, while clients who are unfamiliar with the destination or unsure about safety are more likely to consider alternatives such as the Caribbean.”