“Things would need to be different” if Perfect Day Mexico were to open as scheduled in 2027, Royal Caribbean Group chairman and chief executive Jason Liberty confirmed

Plans for the private island destination were dashed in May after Mexican authorities rejected Royal Caribbean’s proposal due to backlash from residents and environmental groups over the development’s ecological impact.

The site was slated to open in 2027 in Mahahual, a beach town on the Costa Maya on the Caribbean coast, home to fewer than 3,000 people.

Speaking on the shakedown of new Icon class ship Legend of the Seas, Liberty admitted the likelihood of Perfect Day Mexico opening as scheduled was slim, but emphasised the line is continuing to work with the Mexican government to find a solution, despite having “many” offers from other countries keen to host a private island destination for Royal Caribbean.

“We’ve gone to Mexico for a long time and we have a great relationship with the Mexican government,” he said.

“There are many countries that have reached out offering us opportunities to go there because we’re an economic driver locally and we’d make significant environmental improvements to the area so [to work with us] is a complete home run to the community.

“We’re going to continue to try to have good conversations in MExico on how we can be great partners and bring customers from all over the world to the country. But things would have to be in a different place for us in terms of construction to open in 2027 so at this point things would have to be different to make our original 2027 date.”