Overview
- Mexico's environment minister, Alicia Bárcena, said Tuesday that SEMARNAT will not approve the proposal and that Royal Caribbean is in the process of withdrawing its plans.
- The planned development was a roughly 90-hectare private beach and water‑park complex promoted to open in fall 2027 with more than 30 waterslides and an analyst estimate it could hold about 15,000 visitors a day.
- Opposition grew from Mahahual residents and environmental groups who said the site would destroy protected mangroves, threaten turtle nesting beaches and harm the nearby Mesoamerican Reef.
- A Change.org petition launched in July 2025 gathered more than four million signatures and Greenpeace and local leaders pressured regulators to block the plan.
- Royal Caribbean expressed regret, said it respects Mexico's environmental authorities and vowed to re-engage local stakeholders to discuss environmental infrastructure and jobs, a response that signals tougher scrutiny of future cruise land investments.