The way forward for Xcaret’s new theme park in Valladolid stays unsure

Development at Xibalba theme park on the outskirts of Valladolid has been accomplished for a while now.

But there isn’t a agency date for the park to lastly open after a surprise inspection by federal authorities final yr detected a number of issues.

“The builders used dynamite to destroy partitions between cenotes to create a man-made river or hall. This was by no means authorized and constitutes a serious violation,” federal environmental authorities mentioned in a press statement. 

Mexico is now demanding 7 million pesos (roughly US$360,000) to undo the injury induced earlier than a panel could be convened to resolve if the park might be allowed to open in 2023. 

For its half, Grupo Xcaret argues that “All park improvement relies on a mannequin that ensures the conservation, promotion, and improvement of our pure, socio-cultural, and financial heritage for future generations.” However Grupo Xcaret has by no means formally denied the destruction of the cenote partitions with the usage of explosives. 

The undertaking was first unveiled to the general public in 2020 when Gov. Vila Dosal visited the development web site, which he described as “actually stunning and positive to create many well-paying jobs”. 

Earlier: Xcaret, Mayan archaeology in a Disneyland setting

Sources have additionally advised Yucatán Journal that building of Xibalba park started earlier than permits of any variety had been procured, because the undertaking has the backing of the governor. 

Xibalba park has additionally been met with skepticism from members of Valladolid’s enterprise group who contemplate that the attraction doesn’t mesh with Valladolid’s small-town, low-impact tourism vibe. 

“Valladolid is getting extra in style, however it’s nonetheless a small place. We have now no real interest in being like Tulum or Cancun. Let vacationers come, however let’s not smash our group with these kinds of mega tasks,” mentioned native tour information Manuel Cano. 

Grupo Xcaret is a serious participant within the Yucatán Peninsula’s tourism and hospitality trade. The corporate’s Riviera Maya theme parks embrace Xel-Há, Xenses, Xplor, and their flagship park, Xcaret. 

Xcaret’s excursions division additionally organizes day journeys to archaeological websites, which it manufacturers by inserting an X within the identify of the positioning, as an illustration, Xichén for Chichén Itzá. Throughout the previous decade and a half, the corporate has been on a shopping for spree, buying dozens of haciendas and cenotes throughout the Peninsula.

Nevertheless, critics of the corporate are involved that the corporate has develop into too giant and begun to jeopardize the area’s setting and cultural id by way of a course of known as Xcaret-ización.