Southeast Mexico Launches Maya Cultural Tourism Initiatives at World Maya Fair

At the K’íiwik Feria Turística del Mundo Maya 2026 in Mérida, the alliance Mundo Maya México unveiled the “Grandes Abuelas Mayas” programme. The initiative will recognize women who act as custodians of ancestral Maya knowledge and will send them as cultural ambassadors along inter‑state tourism routes such as the Ruta Puuc, Sierra Maya, and the Ruta Arqueológica del Sur. Participants include Cessia Esther Chuc Uc (Campeche), Ramona Puc Cocom (Quintana Roo) and Irma Canché Poot (Yucatán).

Governor Mara Lezama of Quintana Roo opened the state pavilion and presented a complementary strategy that promotes community‑based, sustainable tourism under the Maya Ka’an project. The plan highlights eight experiences in rural and indigenous areas—including Punta Allen, Muyil, Tihosuco, Xpichil, Señora, Chunhuhub and sites around Laguna de Ocom—to spread tourism revenue directly to local communities and diversify the region’s image beyond the traditional sun‑and‑beach model.