by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:50 AM ET, Wed June 10, 2026
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has decreed that Mahahual and the surrounding areas, where Royal Caribbean tried and failed to build its Perfect Day Mexico private cruise destination, will allow only ecotourism projects in the biodiverse region.
Mahahual is located near the world’s second-largest barrier reef system, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, and therefore provides access to some of the most biodiverse ocean ecosystems on the planet.
According to Riviera Maya News, the government of Mexico will allow only approved ecotourism projects to be built and developed in the region, in a joint effort by the Mexican Ministries of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), Tourism (Sectur), and the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), in addition to the Government of Quintana Roo, the state in which Mahahual is located.
The announcement was made on June 5, World Environment Day.
“This area of Mahahual, where a large-scale tourism project was planned, the goal is to give it a protected status so that only ecotourism can be developed in conjunction with the local communities,” explained President Sheinbaum.
Prioritizing ecotourism might make Mahahual a benchmark for other destinations in the region. The region’s development will also focus on Mexico's circular initiatives, which include the replacement of single-use plastics and the promotion of recycling.
In late May, the government of Mexico rejected Royal Caribbean’s $600 million development plan to build what would become the cruise giant’s latest private cruise destination, Perfect Day Mexico, over environmental concerns. The destination would’ve welcomed 21,000 visitors a day.
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