Mexico City — Greenpeace Mexico activists hung a banner on the scaffolding of the Palace of Fine Arts on Tuesday morning to protest Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day project in Mahahual, Quintana Roo.
The environmental group warned that the planned water park would cause severe ecological damage, including loss of coastal vegetation, harm to legally protected mangroves, and permanent reduction of wildlife habitats.
Royal Caribbean is pushing forward with the project despite lacking environmental permits, according to Greenpeace. The group noted that tickets are already being sold for 2027.
Mahahual is not the only site at risk, activists said. On the island of Cozumel, the company’s Royal Beach Club project aims to receive 1.4 million visitors per year across 17 hectares.
Greenpeace called on authorities to evaluate and block the projects, warning of threats to mangroves, reefs, and public beaches. The group argued that the model concentrates profits for foreign companies while local communities face tourist saturation, waste, water stress, loss of beach access, and irreversible environmental damage.
“Mahahual has barely 3,000 inhabitants. How could it support 21,000 visitors a day?” the group said in a statement.
Greenpeace demanded that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) conduct a rigorous, transparent environmental assessment with public participation and deny authorization for the projects.
Semarnat confirmed in a statement that the Perfect Day project is under evaluation and has not yet been authorized for construction or operation. The agency said it has identified several elements requiring specialized analysis, including observations related to planned infrastructure, mitigation measures, and potential impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems.
