Mexico City — Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) formally canceled the ‘Perfect Day’ tourism project proposed by Royal Caribbean in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, following two days of public pressure and a detailed technical review.
In a lengthy statement, the agency said it conducted a comprehensive technical, environmental and legal analysis of three linked projects — ‘Perfect Day,’ ‘Beach Club Perfect Day’ and ‘Construction of a Private Cruise Dock’ — and determined they were functionally, operationally and environmentally interconnected, requiring an integrated assessment rather than fragmented approvals.
The ‘Perfect Day’ project, submitted on December 9, 2025, involved demolishing existing infrastructure and building a water park with six sections: Hideaway, Arrival, Family Cove, Loco Waterpark, Service Area and Natural Areas. It included artificial beaches and rivers, a canal for trajineras, support infrastructure, a wastewater treatment plant with injection well, and a reverse osmosis plant for drinking water with extraction wells and brine disposal. The project covered 82.58 hectares, including 16.38 hectares subject to land-use change.
During the public consultation process, Semarnat received 14,411 citizen comments through the National Procedures System (SINAT) regarding potential environmental and social impacts. The agency also received requests to publish the video recording and certified minutes of a public information meeting held in Mahahual on March 31, 2026.
Semarnat’s General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk (DGIRA) identified several critical issues: mangrove vegetation within the project footprint; potential non-compliance with NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003 regarding mangrove protection distances; risks from saltwater intrusion linked to the reverse osmosis plant; potential alteration of the aquifer’s hydrological balance; insufficient prevention, mitigation and compensation measures; and lack of adequate analysis of impacts on aquatic and reef ecosystems within the influence zone of the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve, as well as potential effects on species listed under NOM-059.
The agency noted that while coral reefs in the area are vulnerable, they have been slowly recovering from previous environmental impacts.
Semarnat also found that Royal Caribbean had submitted two other related projects — ‘Beach Club Perfect Day Mexico, Mahahual, Quintana Roo’ and ‘Private Cruise Docks’ — making it technically unfeasible to assess them independently. For the Beach Club project, DGIRA identified 33 environmental impacts without corresponding mitigation, prevention or compensation measures.
On March 9, 2026, DGIRA issued a prevention notice requesting additional information. On May 13, the environmental authority issued an administrative decision to dismiss the application because the submitted information did not adequately address the requirements or clearly identify significant environmental effects and necessary measures to prevent ecological imbalances.
Regarding the private cruise dock, Semarnat found two separate procedures for the same intervention: a notice claiming no environmental impact authorization was required, and a modification request for port infrastructure modernization, which was ultimately not approved due to contradictions.
Semarnat reiterated that the ‘Perfect Day’ project will not be approved, as announced by Secretary Alicia Bárcena on Monday. Following her announcement, Royal Caribbean formally withdrew from the environmental assessment process, and DGIRA carried out the corresponding administrative actions to close the procedure.
‘The Secretariat reaffirms its commitment to an ecological and environmental humanist policy based on technical, scientific, preventive and legal criteria,’ Semarnat concluded.
The formal cancellation came after two days of demands from environmental organizations, culminating in a protest outside Semarnat’s headquarters in Mexico City on Thursday morning.
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