The five countries that share the legacy of the Mayan culture have committed to work together to promote tourism attractions around this pre-Columbian civilization, which flourished between ca. 250 to 900 AD.

The year 2012 marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar and Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are working to capitalize on the growing interest in this ancient civilization by coordinating their promotion efforts under a regional tourism brand, Mundo Maya (Mayan World).

Mundo Maya promotes and offers information on Mayan attractions throughout southeastern Mexico and Central America, making it easier for tourists to travel between the different countries and, as a result, stimulates regional tourism integration.

This new tourism cooperation project was praised by UNWTO, which has long encouraged a regional approach to tourism development. With tourists increasingly opting for multi-destination trips, cooperation between neighboring countries has proven an extremely effective means of increasing tourist arrivals, as has been the case in regions such as Europe, the Caribbean or Central America where regional tourism bodies work to promote shared itineraries. 

Mundo Maya was congratulated by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, who called on other countries to work towards facilitating border crossings and to embark on joint promotion as a means to further enhance tourism development.

Contacts:

Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

UNWTO Communications Programme

Tel: +34 91-567-8100

Fax: +34 91-567-8218