Mexico cranks up the party to welcome tourists before mayan 'apocalypse' in exactly one year's time

If you believe the Mayans, there is only one year left until the end of the world on December 21, 2012 - and Mexico is cashing in.

While some doomsday theorists may suggest putting together survival kits, people in the southeast of the country, the heart of Maya territory, plan to throw a yearlong celebration. And to make a profit while they party.

Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors over the coming year to the five states richest in Mayan heritage. Mexico as a whole is expected to lure 22 million foreigners.

It is selling the date, the Winter Solstice, as a time of renewal. 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 an apocalypse.

'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.' Read More