RECORD VISITOR NUMBERS ON THE COSTA DEL SOL Despite the unstable international situation which does not encourage optimism, the Costa del Sol managed to end last year with a new record for tourist numbers. In total 8.5 million visitors came to the Costa del Sol last year, a 5% increase on 2000.
According to the first calculations, the tourist industry could have left more than 7,500 million € on the Costa del Sol last year, The tourist data for 2001 also showed a slight fall in hotel occupancy, put down to the increase in residential tourism and the creation of 40 new hotels. Most of these are of five star luxury which, according to the Costa del Sol Tourism Board, confirms an improvement in the quality of tourism in the area, and the consolidation of the province as the first in Andalucía for the number of top category hotels.

THE VIA VERDE
The so-called Via Verde for Olive Oil could be officially opened at the start of March – that at least is the intention of the Jaén provincial government and the tourist promotion board, the promoters of the idea. The budget for the plan is nearly 2 million € and has been the main focus of promotion for the province at the Fitur tourism fair. The Via Verde for Olive Oil, make the most of the old railway line between Jaén and Camporreal which Spanish railways RENFE abandoned in the 80's and which was known as the 'Train of Aceite'. The track is ideal for the practice of sports, cycling, trekking, or horse-riding among other activities. A varied complex of facilities and complementary services are planned to enrich the global appeal of this new tourist attraction. The Via Verde will offer a horse riding school, rural accommodation, a bungy jump club, viewpoints and information centres. The whole project represents a new form of alternative tourism, aware and respectful of the environment and which links the tourist to the natural, cultural and traditional elements of the land through which the rail track runs.

5TH FERIA OF THE BULL
The 5th World Bull Fair, which was held in Seville between February 5 and 10, welcomed around 100,000 visitors. The organisers of the event, which was held as a parallel activity to the 7th Tapa Fair, noted the presence of visitors from the south of France as well as from Latin American countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. The Feria also saw visitors from Portugal and the rest of Spain attracted by the breeding and beauty of the fighting bull. The feria, inaugurated by King Don Juan Carlos, attracted the participation of international exhibitors, such as the bullring at Valencia in Venezuela, the association of Mexican fighting bull breeders and the Beziers bullring among others.
The investment for this edition of the fair was 1,32,000€ - some 220 million pesetas- which has a positive effect directly on the hotel, public transport and catering sectors. Personalities from the social, cultural and artistic worlds of Spain visited the show, among them Miguel Bosé, the son of the matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, who received a posthumous honour during the fair.

CÓRDOBA FERIA GATEWAY
The gateway which will be set up this year in El Arenal de Cordoba, to welcome visitors to the Nuestra Señora de la Salud feria in the city, will be a faithful reproduction of the tower to be found in Orange Square of the Cathedral Mosque. The artistic entrance which the visitors to the fair, one of the most important in Andalucía, will see will be the highest in history and the tallest construction of the city at 43.5metres. Three main decorative elements of the mosque will be included in gateway. One of them will be in the central part of the construction and will be a replica of the Puerta del Perdon of the Mosque. This will lead to the second design – a wide space in the shape of the transept containing 22 arches. The budget for the construction of the gateway will ascend to 37.5 million pesetas and it has been estimated that it will take 6,700 man hours to be constructed and installed in El Arenal.

EL ROCIO GASTRONOMIC FESTIVAL
Around 25,000 people have this year travelled to El Rocio to enjoy the best dishes of the district in the fourth edition of the Gastronomic Festival to be held in this district of Huelva province. The fair, planned to promote local cuisine, wines and crafts, brought together visitors from across Spain to the Plaza de Doñana in the hamlet of Almonte. Hoteliers from the area displayed their typical dishes for three days – dishes such as shellfish from Matalascañas, Venison in marsh sauce, Roast Lamb or Meatballs with Cuttlefish, mixing the roasts and fries with the best confectionary from Huelva. The success of this gastronomic show was reflected in the increase in visitor numbers over last year's 20,000. This years revellers got through 4,000 bottles of wine and 2,500 bottles of Vitafresh juice.

COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
Seville, Córdoba and Granada are developing joint promotional activities, thanks to a collaboration agreement which the three provincial governments have signed with the objective of coordinating activities, programmes and concrete projects to strengthen tourism as the economic development motor for the villages of these three provinces. These three entities are planning a series of joint tourist promotion activities in both national and international markets. In addition they will also share in a web space which will help to promote the three provinces using the latest new technologies. The collaboration agreement signed by the three governments will also give a presence to each province in the other two, again with the object of tourism promotion. Each provincial government will be invited to presentations in the other two and they will all collaborate on any projects which they consider necessary in order to guarantee their success.

GRANADA CONGRESS
Historians, Architects, Businessmen, Curators of Monuments and Mayors from more than 100 towns and cities from across the world will be in Granada this week to analyse the compatibility between the development of tourism in historic cities and the conservation of their heritage and monuments. The congress named 'International conference on the overall development and integration of tourism within historic cities' has been organised by the provincial tourism board of Granada and is held between Feb 19 and 22. It's main objective is to carry out a scientific and deep analysis of the most important problems to affect the historic cities which receive a high number of visitors, paying special attention to the conservation of the heritage and environment. More than 40 experts on tourism are travelling to Granada for the congress from Spain, Holland, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Columbia and France. One of the objectives of the congress is to create a permanent forum which will advance attempts to create a harmonious development between an increasing leisure demand and the use of cultural resources.

SIERRA DE ARACENA AND PICOS DE AROCHE NATURE PARK
The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Nature Park could be classified as a Biosphere Reserve if accepted by the National and International committee of UNESCO – the body which awards the distinction. The addition to the list of Biosphere reserves would include the areas Dehesas de Sierra Morena and the Hornachuelos Nature Park in Córdoba, together with the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Nature Park. If the proposition from the Environmental council is approved, it will become the largest biosphere reserve in Spain and the third in the province of Huelva, behind Doñana and the Odiel marshlands. Currently there are 19 such natural spaces across the country, of which seven are in Andalucía. The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Nature Park is the second largest in Andalucía, after Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas. With an area of 184,000 hectares it has abundant vegetation and fauna as important as the black vulture or the Iberian Lynx.