For Erica Gindele, Puerto Vallarta is the easiest sell in the world. “It’s not a hard sell because I love it so much,” says Gindele of Minneapolis-based Forever Honeymoons, an affiliate of Travel Leaders.

That, however, was not always the case. Gindele, who has been specializing in Mexico since she entered the business in 1999, took her first trip to Puerto Vallarta in 2000. “It was a bad trip, but mostly because of who I was with,” she says. “For years, I didn’t sell Puerto Vallarta because of that trip.”

Gindele, however, returned in 2011 and everything changed. “I fell in love with the destination,” she says, adding that she was struck by the warmth of the people, something that left an impression on her the moment she arrived. “In Puerto Vallarta, you are coming into people’s hometown. They’re proud to have you visit their home.”

Secondly, Gindele feels completely safe in the destination. “There are 70-year-old women walking down the street in downtown Puerto Vallarta or Old Town with their fanny packs by themselves, and they’re perfectly fine,” she says. “You can also see how safe it is by the number of ex-patriots who live there.”

Puerto Vallarta is also a city where travelers can feel perfectly safe using public transportation. “Their bus system is awesome,” Gindele says. “Puerto Vallarta makes it easy to take the bus, and it’s really inexpensive – and it picks you up everywhere.”

For those travelers who eschew public transportation, Gindele notes that taxi drivers personify the city’s warmth. “I met a taxi driver, Mario, who gave me his card and sent me an email telling me any time I have anyone who needs a pick-up he’d be happy to do so,” she says.

Gindele has also found that Puerto Vallarta can be sold to virtually any type of client. “I truly believe that it appeals to absolutely everyone,” she says.

That said, one market that should never be discounted is the wedding and honeymoon market, which Gindele specializes in. For starters, the destination is home to quality American wedding planners and photographers. “They are the type of wedding planners that a lot of brides want to connect with,” she says, adding that they will go onsite to any hotel to help with wedding planning.

Also, Puerto Vallarta offers a wide array of options for honeymoon and wedding guests, from all-inclusives to smaller boutique properties such as Playa Fiesta, where guests can rent the entire hotel for their wedding weekends at extremely attractive rates that include all meals and drinks, excluding the wedding meal.

Good value, combined with a robust portfolio of accommodations options, says Gindele, is another key selling point, including properties that are not set on the beach. “You’ll still have a great vacation if you stay in a hotel that is not on the beach, because there’s so much to do,” she says. “Clients could stay in the Romantic Zone or the mountains, where there’s lots of villas and inns that overlook the Bay of Banderas. You can have a private villa with a pool that’s a steal up in the mountains.”

Gindele, who typically sells all-inclusives to her clients traveling in other parts of Mexico, says Puerto Vallarta is an exception to that rule. Although she does book a healthy share of all-inclusives, she never discounts the other options. “In Puerto Vallarta it really depends on the client, because there are so many great hotels and private villas to choose from,” she says.

The destination’s activities are as diverse as its hotel portfolio, says Gindele. “If you want to be in the city you have the lively activities of the city,” she says. “You also have every possible excursion, including swimming with dolphins, whale watching sailing, surfing and golfing.”

Another selling point is the rich array of restaurant offerings. “The food is amazing,” says Gindele, “and there are so many restaurants to choose from.”

In the final analysis, Gindele believes that agents looking to capture a larger share of Puerto Vallarta bookings need to experience the destination for themselves. “I think if they haven’t been there they need to go,” she says. “Until they experience it and see the value of the new all-inclusives and other new hotels I don’t think they can sell it well.”