Mundo Maya (original) (raw)

2014, Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, edited by Claire Smith, pp. 5098-5102. Springer, New York.

Mundo Maya (“Maya World”), formerly referred to as La Ruta Maya (“The Maya Route”), is a joint effort among the Ministries of Tourism from Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to promote tourism throughout southern Mexico and upper Central America. Geographically, the Mundo Maya covers approximately 500,000km2, encompassing all of Belize and Guatemala, the western half of El Salvador, northern and western Honduras, and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo. The program (Organización Mundo Maya) works with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and other agencies to identify a wide range of cultural and natural resources considered appropriate for international tourism in this region, such as Pre-Columbian Maya ruins, Spanish Colonial towns, contemporary Maya villages, beaches, waterfalls, volcanoes, and tropical forests. By coordinating contiguous tourist destinations across national boundaries — all linked, directly or indirectly, to ancient and modern Maya peoples — the program seeks to facilitate the growth and development of the tourism industry, including ethnic tourism, adventure tourism, ecotourism, luxury tours, language learning, and other touristic experiences. The greater goal of the program is to strengthen local economies, assist in the planning and training of local economic development products and projects, preserve cultural patrimony and ecological resources, and advance the welfare of indigenous Maya communities.