Maya Ka’an, Q.R. — The region of Maya Ka’an in the south of the state is set to become the next tourist destination now that a collaboration with Amigos de Sian Ka´an and Consejo de Promoción Turística de Quintana Roo has been formalized.
Darío Flota Ocampo, director of the Consejo de Promoción Turística de Quintana Roo said “We are looking how to link the attractions in the area around the biosphere and turn them into tourist products and find marketing networks and channels to make it happen to help members of the community that will benefit them,” adding that they are looking to promote “the flow around tourist attractions so as not to affect the beauty of the place.”
The collaboration comes after Amigos de Sian Ka´an began promoting the area as a destination in 2014. The goal is that the new agreement will help boost the brand and attract sustainable tourism.
Flota Ocampo says that their goal as promoter will be to give the area it’s own identity, to generate traffic and promote the region’s Mayan culture.
“What sets it apart from the rest of the Caribbean is the legacy of the Mayan culture, which is also a living culture that can be experienced,” he said. “Our job will be to make it appear on tourist maps with its own identity, its own accounts in social networks and we will generate the traffic,” he added.
Gonzalo Merediz Alonso, director of Amigos de Sian Ka’an, spoke about what the agreement means for this project.
“It is not a new project. It is something that we have been working on with the Consejo de Promoción Turística de Quintana Roo for a long time and now we have come to formalize this working relationship around Maya Ka’an so that the destination is driven by them,” he said.
The idea is to have a work plan with very specific goals such as creating the managing body of the destination. It also guarantees that the brand will be used by the state government.
Before, the collaboration was done through the Consejo de Promoción de la Riviera Maya, but now that everything is integrated into one council, there became an opportunity to do it formally,” he explained.
Merediz Alonso said that as for the destination, “Many visitors arrive. There are locals trained in bird watching. We work with hoteliers of (Felipe) Carrillo Puerto and José María Morelos. There has been a lot of activity for several years,” noting that between 100,000 and 120,000 visitors arrive each year with the majority arriving at Sian Ka’an.
He added that in regard to Maya Ka’an, they do not want mass tourism, but one that is profitable and that generates economic benefits.
