Tourism service providers who make trips to Los Arcos in Mismaloya Park were surprised by the response of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) when they suspended the issuance of permits for water activities on the site.
Los Arcos at Mismaloya Park became an area of conflict as a result of a real estate development project with a dock or pier as part of the infrastructure. Additionally, a large breakwater began to be built damaging the ocean bottom for marine life, flora and fauna at the site.
The tour operators who provide the tours to Los Arcos were surprised when they applied to obtain the permit and at the Semarnat offices. They replied that there was no personnel to process the permits. Their fear is that this apparent abandonment of the offices to process the permits is a bureaucratic maneuver to pressure those permit holders who have adopted a critical attitude against the real estate project.
The projects are suspected to change the purpose of the natural park, which has been an attraction for many years, due to the large amounts of marine fauna on the seabed, admired by tourists who snorkel and scuba dive.
For years, Los Arcos at Mismaloya has been the first stop boats make, when travelling from Puerto Vallarta, towards the beaches of Yelapa, Las Animas, and Quimixto. These tours have been very successful among national and foreign visitors.