Mahahual, Q.R. — Royal Caribbean has submitted their environmental impact study to begin construction of their Mahahual mega project. After the purchase of the Port of Mahahual in 2025, cruise company Royal Caribbean announced their plan to revamp the port and surrounding area.
The plan includes a large-scale water park and entertainment complex on more than 90 hectares adjacent to Puerto Costa Maya.
In December 2025, the company submitted documents to the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) for evaluation of the Environmental Impact Statement and Regional modality, (MIA-R) corresponding to the Perfect Day project.
In their documents to the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat), the company explained that the project will be built on a land area of 825,404.01 m² and a Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT) of 404.88 m².
It will consist of the preparation, construction and operation of infrastructure and tourist activities corresponding to a water park with a maximum capacity of 21,000 cruise ship tourists per day and 2,500 employees.
The park, they said, will offer various activities divided into six themed areas, or “neighborhoods,” that organize the activities and services: 1) Arrival, 2) Hideaway, 3) Family Cove, 4) Loco Waterpark, 5) Service Areas (BOH), and 6) Natural Areas.
“The Perfect Day land-based component includes works and activities related to the construction of recreational tourism developments, urbanization, and land-use change in forest areas. It encompasses recreational tourism infrastructure within an urban context that has been impacted by previous human activities,” their document reads.
“It is located within a polygon whose land uses and development parameters are compatible with the Urban Development Program of the Mahahual Population Center 2021-2050 (PDUCPM), modified by a technical opinion approved during the Seventeenth Ordinary Session of the Othón P. Banco City Council, dated December 1, 2025, published in the Official Gazette of the State of Quintana Roo, Volume III, Number 226 Extraordinary, dated December 5, 2025.”
Royal Caribbean says their Perfect Day Mahahual “aims to expand and diversify recreational offerings, generate local jobs, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises, and conserve key ecosystems such as mangroves, selecting a previously developed site to minimize environmental impacts.”
The water park will consist of “courses connecting different bodies of water including water slides of varying heights and intensities (from extreme to family-friendly), interactive games, water jets, lazy rivers, and a traditional boat channel.”
Perfect Day Mahahual will also include “amenities and services, including restaurants, pools of varying depths, sunbathing areas, restrooms with showers, and spacious walkways. For supporting infrastructure, to ensure sustainability and efficiency, the park will include a reverse osmosis plant (ROP) and a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
“The above implies that 35.91% of the property polygon (PP) will be subject to intervention, leaving 64.09% of the property undisturbed. These undisturbed areas consist of natural areas and areas under conservation and restoration, as shown in the table below,” they detailed.
“The site where the project is to be developed is located within the limits of the town of Mahahual. It is an urbanized area comprised of multiple plots of land of varying sizes, the legal possession or ownership of which has been gradually acquired by the developer in order to carry out the project.
“On these plots, there are structures or projects of various kinds that were developed by the former owners or possessors, including, among other sections of the Nuevo Mahahual subdivision, structures associated with the Costa Maya Cruise Terminal, and commercial and service areas.
“The project aims to demolish all existing structures on the land that makes up the site in order to develop a new, comprehensive tourism and recreation project. Based on its size and characteristics, the project is also intended to be an orderly and coherent development strategy aligned with Mahahual’s development objectives as a tourist corridor.
“As a comprehensive recreational tourism project, the project will eliminate the fragmentation of land uses and activities currently existing within the urban area originally developed around the Costa Maya Cruise Terminal, transforming it into a zone where environmental impacts will be addressed in a comprehensive and coherent manner.”
The company says that “Mahahual has established itself as a strategic cruise tourism destination in the Caribbean, reaching up to 21,000 visitors in a single day at the Costa Maya Port and with a projected growth of two to 4.1 million tourists annually by 2030, representing a positive economic impact for the region.”
Last month, Royal Caribbean submitted their environmental impact study to start construction of their Royal Beach Club Cozumel.
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