Main frieze at the summit of Xunantunich Maya Archaeological Temple.
The Mundo Maya countries, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador, are preparing to enjoy a tourism surge expected in the next few months generated by the end of the current Maya 2012 Long Count Calendar on December 21.
That day marks the end of the Maya calendar cycle “Baktún”, which began 5,125 years ago, and and the start another cycle according to experts who say that the count of the time of the pre-Columban civilization was not linear but circular, the cycles beginning at a point in which one ends and the other starts anew.
The appointed date has unleashed apocalyptic predictions, including the theory that it will be the end of the world, but the only thing that countries of the Maya world are preparing for is to receive a tidal wave of tourists.
“We are going to meet expectations (…), it is a guaranteed success, the arrival of tourists from Europe, South America, United States, Canada and other parts of the world,” the Minister of tourism of El Salvador and President pro tempore of the Maya world Organization (WMO), José Napoleón Duarte is quoted as saying in an article in Guatemala’s Prensa Libre newspaper this week.
“The impact is already being felt throughout social media networks; the Maya world is now the most important focus for tourists coming to Central America and Mexico,” noted Mr. Duarte.
Duarte says that in the main archaeological areas of the five countries of the Maya world hotel occupancy ‘is fully booked’ for December and that, in the case of El Salvador, “there are airlines that are already completely booked up for the San Salvador” in that month.
The official has estimated that tourism in the region will increase by more than 10 per cent by the end of the Maya cycle.
Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are expecting five million tourists and Mexico around 10 million, to the Maya World regions alone, excluding other tourist niche markets, according to Duarte.
According to statistics from the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration, in 2011 the number of visitors to the region grew 4.5 percent to eight million tourists, with a 9 percent increase in foreign currency earnings totaling some $8.2 billion.
Some of the more prominent archaeological sites offered by the Mundo Maya include Palenque, Tulum, Comalcalco, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Cobá (Mexico), Xunantunich (Belize), the Jewel of Cerén (El Salvador), Tikal (Guatemala) and Copan (Honduras).
Duarte said that each country of the Mayan world is organizing its own activities on the occasion of the “Baktun”, in some cases starting in November, but that will be no main regional activity.
But Duarte says says that on the night of December 20 he will link up with his counterparts in the Maya world via satellite television from the ruins of Tazumal (El Salvador) and this event will be broadcast from Canada to Colombia.
“That will be the event where we will meet to explain what are we doing on the occasion and continue to raise awareness of the Maya culture and the Baktun, he stated.
The countries of the Maya world will hold concerts, gastronomic festivals, religious ceremonies, ball games, archaeological visits, and conferences on science and tourism investments, among other activities promoting appreciation for and understanding of Maya Culture.
El Salvador, which will start their celebrations in the first week of December, will symbolically build four Mayan pyramids in the port of La Libertad (Pacific), that will combine four elements: wood, earth, fire (with laser lights) and water (the sea).
Nothing as spectacular is planned for Belize. Announcements to date are for tourism-oriented events such as camp-outs and Maya ceremony re-enactments to be held at the Xunantunich, Caracol and Cahal Pech Maya Temples in western Belize.