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A<\/span>n environmentally-friendly tourism initiative in Quintana Roo that seeks to give visitors an authentic cultural experience has attracted more than US $1 million in international funding, giving eight communities across three municipalities a welcome boost.<\/p>\r\n Quintana Roo Tourism Minister Marisol Vanegas P\u00e9rez announced that Maya Ka\u2019an, a region consisting of eight communities in Tulum, Felipe Carrillo Puerto and Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Morelos, will receive $1.4 million from the United Nations Global Environment Facility (GEF) trust fund.<\/p>\r\n The money will be used to promote Maya Ka\u2019an, provide sustainability training to tourism cooperatives in the eight communities and improve the region\u2019s ecotourism offerings.<\/p>\r\n The GEF will provide the funds as part of a $7.2-million grant to a sustainable tourism initiative known as Project Kuxatur (\u201cLiving Tourism\u201d in Mayan), which will be implemented in Maya Ka\u2019an as well as areas of Oaxaca and Baja California Sur.<\/p>\r\n \u201cKuxatur is a unique project \u2026 and it\u2019s arriving at a key time as it will allow us to promote the tourism activities of the tourism companies of Maya Ka\u2019an, which have been affected by the health emergency, and at the same time it will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity. \u2026 This destination [will become] a model of sustainability both in tourism practices and in the life of the communities,\u201d said Gonzalo Merediz Alonso, executive director of Amigos de Sian Ka\u2019an, an environmental, conservation and sustainable development NGO.<\/p>\r\n \u201cThe cooperatives will be trained in sustainable development with the aim of consolidating Maya Ka\u2019an as a biodiversity-friendly destination through the design and implementation of innovative sustainable tourism policies and models,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n