Mexico rejects Royal Caribbean’s ‘Perfect Day’ water park on Caribbean coast

By Daina Beth Solomon and Natalia Siniawski

MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Reuters) – Mexican authorities have rejected plans to build a large water park by cruise line Royal Caribbean on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Environment Minister Alicia Barcena said on Tuesday, following backlash from residents and environmental groups over the project’s ecological impact.

The rejection of the megatourism project highlights the growing resistance to mass development in Mexico’s pristine coastal regions.

“It will not be approved,” Barcena told a news conference, emphasizing that the company was also taking steps to withdraw the project.

Royal Caribbean told Reuters it regretted the decision but respected Mexican environmental authorities.

The company added that it remains optimistic about investments in Mexico and plans to discuss local job creation and environmental infrastructure with stakeholders in the coming weeks.

Scheduled to debut in fall 2027 in Mahahual, a beach town near a coral reef, the project dubbed Perfect Day Mexico was billed as the “biggest, baddest, boldest destination,” featuring beach clubs, pools, bars and more than 30 water slides.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum echoed environmental concerns during her morning news conference on Monday.

“We should not do anything that affects this 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, considered Perfect Day ‌Mexico as part of its strategy to increase investment in land-based destinations.

ENVIRONMENTAL REPRESSION

Mahahual, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, is known for its clear, warm waters and its proximity to the Mesoamerican Reef, the largest reef in the Western Hemisphere, which attracts divers to observe its diversity of fish, coral and other marine life.

Turtles form nests along the coast, which give way to dense mangrove forests and tropical jungle home to jaguars.

Environmental group Greenpeace warned that the region was at a “crucial moment”, stressing that the project and its link to the development of cruise tourism could have significant environmental consequences.

Public opposition has also increased online. A Change.org petition demanding an end to the project, launched in July 2025, has reached more than 4 million signatures in recent days.

Petition organizers say the planned 90-hectare (222-acre) water park would be built on protected mangroves, threatening the local way of life, communities’ access to beaches and the survival of marine life.

The area is close to the route of the Mayan Train, a government project intended to bring development to indigenous Mayan communities beyond Cancun’s crowded beaches, but which local groups and environmentalists have criticized.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Cynthia Osterman)