Mexico cashes in on catastrophe

The Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas While many people may regard today as simply another day on the advent calendar before Christmas arrives, in Mexico it marks the beginning of a year-long party. According to some interpretations of the ancient Maya calendar, December 21, 2012 signifies the end of the world and people in the southeastern part of Mexico - the heart of Maya territory - are planning to party hard just in case they're right. And hopefully turn a profit at the same time.
Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors over the coming year just to the five states richest in Maya heritage. Mexico as a whole is expected to lure just 22 million foreigners this year.
While some doomsday theorists predict the apocalypse next year, most Mexican archaeological authorities say that the 2012 reference on a 1,300-year-old stone tablet only marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar, not the end of the world.
'The world will not end. It is an era,' said Yeanet Zaldo, a tourism spokeswoman for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun.
'For us, it is a message of hope.'
The Mayan region is marking the countdown with different commemorative events.
The city of Tapachula on the Guatemalan border will start an 8-foot digital clock in its main park which will marks the days, weeks and hours until the all-important date.
In the nearby archaeological site of Izapa, Maya priests will burn incense, chant and offer prayers.
On Mexico's Caribbean coast, between the resorts of Cancun and Playa del Carmen, people are putting messages and photos in a time capsule that will be buried for 50 years. Maya priests and Indian dancers will perform a ritual at the time capsule ceremony.
'People who still live in Mayan villages will host rites and burn incense for us to go back in time and try to understand the Mayan wisdom,' Ms Zaldo said.
Yucatan state has announced plans to complete the Maya Museum of Merida by next summer.
And President Felipe Calderon recently announced there would be about 500 Maya-themed events throughout the year in southern Mexico, including workshops and dance and music festivals.
Officials are building a state-run tourist hotel at the natural reserve of Calakmul in the state of Campeche. And the National Institute of Anthropology and History is opening three additional ruins to tourists.
Mexico's tourism has been going from strength to strength in recent years, particularly among British and European travellers.
The number of Britons visiting the country has increased by 12 per cent year on year and it is hoped this renewed interest in Mayan culture and history will boost visitor numbers even more.
The Mayan civilisation, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy.
The doomsday theories stem from a pair of tablets discovered in the 1960s at the archaeological site of Tortuguero in the Gulf of Mexico state of Tabasco that describe the return of a Mayan god at the end of a 13th period, which can be worked out as the end of next year.
It is expected that in the run-up to December 21 next year, the whole Mayan region will become booked up with holidaymakers keen to experience 'the end of the world' where it was first predicted.