By Daina Beth Solomon and Natalia Siniawski
MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Reuters) – Mexican authorities rejected a large water park planned by cruise company Royal Caribbean on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Environment Minister Alicia Barcena said on Tuesday, following backlash from residents and environmental groups over the development’s ecological impact.
The rejection of the mega-tourism project underscores growing resistance to mass development in Mexico’s pristine coastal regions.
“It is not going to be approved,” Barcena told a press conference, noting that the company was also taking steps to withdraw the project.
Royal Caribbean told Reuters it regretted the decision but respected Mexico’s environmental authorities.
The company added it remains optimistic about investing in Mexico and plans to talk with stakeholders in the coming weeks about local job creation and environmental infrastructure.
Slated to debut in fall 2027 in Mahahual, a beach town near a coral reef, the project dubbed Perfect Day Mexico was advertised as the “biggest, baddest, boldest destination,” offering beach clubs, pools, bars and more than 30 waterslides.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum echoed the environmental concerns during her daily morning press conference on Monday.
“We must not do anything that affects that area, which has a very important ecological balance, and is particularly important for the reefs,” Sheinbaum said.
Royal Caribbean, which offers a number of cruise options in Mexico and the Caribbean, saw Perfect Day Mexico as part of its strategy to expand investments in land-based destinations.
ENVIRONMENTAL PUSHBACK
Mahahual, home to fewer than 3,000 people, is known for its clear, warm waters and its proximity to the Mesoamerican Reef, the largest reef in the Western Hemisphere, which attracts scuba divers to see its array of fish, coral and other marine life.
Turtles form nests along the coast, which gives way to dense mangrove forests and tropical jungle that are home to jaguars.
Environmental group Greenpeace warned that the region was at a “crucial juncture,” noting that the project and its link to expanded cruise tourism could cause significant environmental consequences.
Public opposition also surged online. A Change.org petition demanding the project be halted, launched in July 2025, in recent days reached more than 4 million signatures.
Organizers of the petition say the planned 90-hectare (222-acre) water park would be built on protected mangroves, threatening the local way of life, community access to beaches and the survival of marine life.
The area is near the route of the Mayan Train, a government project meant to bring development to Indigenous Maya communities beyond the crowded beaches of Cancun, but that local groups and environmentalists have criticized.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Cynthia Osterman)
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