Mayan doomsday prophecy used to entice tourists

The end of the Mayan calendar has kicked off a year of enticements for tourism to Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras with an effort called Mundo Maya 2012. With the tagline "The countdown has begun," Mundo Maya winks at the idea the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012, the last day of the Mayan calendar. Never mind that even Mayan scholars point out the end of this 13th and final Bak'tun, or cycle, merely resets the calendar. Mayan-themed vacation packages, mass weddings and shamanic rituals are still being scheduled leading up to the world "beginning anew," and if you do believe the Mayans predicted the apocalypse, what better time to blow your savings on an epic vacation?