CANCUN TRAVEL MART HELD OCTOBER 13—15 CANCUN WINS BIG AT THE WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS Alltournative, one of the leading eco- archeological tour operators in Cancun and one of the biggest allies of local Mayan com- munities in the area, will now offer school transportation to 21 Mayan children. These kids are part of five Mayan communities in the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas in Quintana Roo, and will be given transportation to Tres Reyes, the nearest Mayan town that is home to elementary and middle schools. Carlos Marin Morales, CEO of Alltournative, explained that this effort is in response to the high amount of children that stop going to school at an early age, mostly due to the lack of transportation. These children live in communities located about 2—6 miles from the nearest schools in Tres Reyes, making it very difficult for young children to walk every day. The funds and proceeds received from the Alltournative Mayatlon event that took place this past March was used to purchase the bus and make this offering possible. This service will come at no cost to the Mayan communities or families, and Alltournative will also pay for the gasoline and any mechanical services the bus may need. Motivated by easy transportation to the Tres Reyes schools, 11 kids have already signed up for middle school in the next upcoming school year, continuing their much needed education. The World Travel Awards have honored Cancun and the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau for the fourth consecutive year. Cancun won 2014 Mexico & Central America’s Leading Destina- tion, Leading Tourist Board and Leading Beach Destination. In addition, British Airways, presented Cancun with the “Attitude Award” due to Cancun’s ranking as a preferred destination for British Airway’s fliers. The winners were announced at the South & Central America Gala Ceremony in Quito, Ecuador last month. The award cere- mony will take place at the World Travel Market 2014 in London on November 3 – 6. Hailed as ‘the Oscars of the travel industry,’ the World Travel Awards celebrated its 21st anniversary this year and is acknowl- edged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade. The or- ganization aims to celebrate those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence. The 27th Annual Cancun Travel Mart will be held at the Cancun Convention Center on October 13 – 15. The Cancun Travel Mart has provided productive and personal business opportunities in a professional environment for Cancun’s buyers and suppliers, as well as those of the rest of Mexico. Tour operators, members of the hospitality and tourism sectors along with local and international media will gather at the Conven- tion Center to discuss travel and tourism trends, as well as relevant industry news. Buyers from global markets including the U.S., Canada, Latin Amer- ica, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region will attend this year’s event. The Cancun CVB has high hopes of surpassing the attendance numbers from last year, which encompassed a total of 730 tourism professionals, including 332 buyers and 398 suppliers. ALLTOURNATIVE FACILITATES EDUCATION FOR LOCAL MAYAN KIDS Cancun News