Tourism in the Puerto Vallarta Metropolitan Area, Mexico: Challenges and Opportunities for the XXI Century

Internationally, sun and beach tourism continue to be the main marketable product for destinations around the world, such as the case of the Puerto Vallarta Metropolitan Area in Jalisco State, Mexico. This article aims to reflect on mass tourism's impact on the region, with a perspective on the first half of the 21st century within the framework of sustainable tourism. The research approach involves qualitative methods such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentary research based on consulting official government sources, data banks, and newspaper analysis. The discussion focuses on the problems associated with the political-administrative aspects of geographical connotation, the challenge of diversifying tourism products with an emphasis on attention to specific growing niches, as well as the ordering of unregulated accommodation and priority attention to social justice to the host population. As a result, the integral planning of the tourist destination is identified as a fundamental issue on which a new stage can be built for the region for the benefit of the resident population, in addition to the diversification of the tourism product considering the micro-regions and its potential within the framework of sustainability.