Last year Puerto Vallarta received 259 cruise ship arrivals compared to 210 the year before, the Mexican Riviera route, which includes Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and our port, increasingly popular. And when passengers disembark to enjoy the pleasures of our gorgeous city, one feels the hum in the air as they excitedly explore our downtown cobblestone streets or go on one of the many tours available, making the most of their time here and many planning to return before even re-boarding their ship. Meanwhile, Puerto Vallarta hoteliers reported their December occupancy was up 9.3 per cent compared to the same month last year. And while there is traditionally a lull in tourism right after Christmas week because, the thinking goes, people have to go back to work and they just finished spending too much money over the holidays, most hotels reported occupancy rates well over 70 per cent at the beginning of the new year.