market
strategies
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR A NEW ERA
selling the mundo maya
tour product
BY ANA FIGUEROA
AT A GLANCE
THE OPPORTUNITY
; There is strong consumer inter-
est worldwide in the significance
of 2012, when the Mayan Long
Count calendar ( 5,000 years)
resets, signaling the start of a
new era
THE SUPPLIERS
; Some mainstream operators
have enhanced the Maya-
focused elements in their Mexico
tours
; Specialty tour operators who
have long had tours exclusively
focusing on the world of the
Maya have added programs and
enhanced existing tours; most
of these go to lesser known sites
and include an educational com-
ponent and unique experiences
; The upscale Maya tour product
includes operators like Cather-
wood Travels, Classic Vacations
and Abercrombie & Kent
THE CUSTOMER
; Best prospects for a Mundo
Maya tour include clients inter-
ested in history, culture and/
or archaeology as well as those
looking for unique and one-of-a-
kind travel experiences
SELLING MUNDO
MAYA TOURS
; Many operators have cre-
ated promotional and online
educational materials, and added
training seminars, to help agents
understand the significance of
2012 to the Maya, and promote
tours to their clients
; International interest in visiting
Mexico’s Mayan sites in 2012
means U.S. agents should book
clients early while space is
available
MAINSTREAM AND SPECIALTY tour
operators have ramped up their offer-
ings to Mexico this year with enhanced
programs spotlighting Mexico’s “Mundo
Maya,” or Mayan world. The enhance-
ments give travel agents new opportu-
nities based on a unique selling point
some 5,000 years in the making: the
Mayan Long Count calendar will end, or
reset, in 2012, with the days surround-
ing the winter solstice ushering in a new
era, say the experts.
THE
UPSCALE
TOUR
PRODUCT
Mexico tours focusing on the world of the Maya in 2012 are available at various price
levels, including the high end. Upscale Maya tours generally include a smaller group size,
luxury and/or unique accommodations, and exclusive access to Mayan archaeological
sites, cenotes and nature preserves. Some upscale operators will add specialized excursions and expert speakers to customize tours when there is specific client interest in
archaeology, history, culture or Mayan cuisine.
Tours from upscale operator Catherwood Travels, based in Merida, Mexico, are known
for their educational slant. Features include lectures by experts and stays in authentically-renovated haciendas with private drivers and chefs. Tours visit artists’ colonies and towns
still populated by the Maya. They also feature visits to schools, clinics and libraries operated by a non-profit foundation that helps preserve local Mayan culture. Catherwood’s
Winter Solstice Tour in December of 2012 will include cleansing rituals conducted by
Mayan priests and visits to Mayan medicine experts.
“Our goal is to educate and communicate about a living culture. We want to let people
know that there is more to the great Mayan civilization than what they will find in museums,” said Angelica Espinoza Carrillo, sales and marketing manager for Catherwood
Travels.
Luxury operator Abercrombie & Kent’s Signature Mexico itinerary includes a stay at an
upscale bungalow at Chichén-Itzá. The operator also offers independent journeys from
Chiapas that include the Mayan highlands, Palenque and the archaeological site of Tonina.
Classic Vacations’ 2012 tours feature stays at the Lodge at Chichén-Itzá and the Lodge
at Uxmal, both overlooking the Mayan world’s most famous ruins. “They’re part of our
new and improved offerings to highlight the Mayan world in 2012,” said Classic’s Federico
Moreno-Nickerson.
dives in sacred Mayan pools, and zip
line excursions through Mayan jungles.
For 2012, some of these operators will
extend stays at Mayan ruins to take
advantage of heightened interest.
“We are amending our Chichén-Itzá
tour to make it more ‘Mayan Prophecy’ focused, extending the actual
time spent at the site and adding more
information about the Mayan Calendar
and the infamous predictions,” said
Sandy Babin, Apple Vacation’s vice
president of marketing. The company
“has already made some changes; others will come a bit later, probably at the
beginning of summer as we build up to
Dec. 21, 2012.”
specialty operators
A number of specialty tour operators
have long offered programs focusing
exclusively on various aspects of Mayan
archaeology, history and culture. These
operators have expanded and enhanced
their programs for 2012, in many cases
including “one-time-only” festivals at
sacred Mayan sites on solstices and
equinoxes (dates the Maya considered
particularly meaningful), overnight stays
at Mayan ceremonial centers, participation in sacred Mayan rituals, and even
Mayan cooking classes.
PRIVATE CENOTE, XOCEMPICH,
INCLUDED IN A CATHERWOOD
TRAVELS TOUR
Discover more at
www.visitmexico.com
or call 1-800-44-MEXICO
For educational courses about
Mexico, go to
www.magicofmexico.com
RIGHT: RUINS AT
EDZNA, INCLUDED IN
A JOURNEY MEXICO
TOUR. FAR RIGHT:
CHICHÉN-ITZÁ RUINS
AND LODGE, INCLUDED IN A CLASSIC
VACATIONS TOUR
