SEGURA OLIVE OIL
An olive oil which brings together a district of 14 municipalities. A green colour which, when mature becomes ochre. A dash of oil which wants to be seen across the world. Some 20 restaurants, rural houses and hotels in the Segura Sierra, in Jaén province, are going to display this olive oil in their establishments. For a year they will have nearly 2,000 litres of this oil, described as extra virgen and organic at their disposition. The promoters of the idea want tourists to try it and take it around the world. The campaign is geared to promotion, but before a training course will be given to the professionals in the hotel sector from the Segura district. The idea being to learn and then teach and also here show and try this exquisite olive oil from Jaén.

VIRTUAL MONUMENTS
What you can soon see again is the mosque in Seville, built by the Almohads where today the Cathedral stands. This will be the virtual recreation of buildings which no longer exist or today are ruins, using a computer assisted method by the design professors at the Granada university school of architecture. The idea is to reach the general public so that they can enjoy and understand history. A doctoral thesis on Archaeology and Heritage was the starting point for this method of virtual reconstruction which has concentrated on Muslim buildings thanks to the collaboration of the director of the School for Arab Studies in Granada, Antonio Almargo. The work on the Ommayad Alcázar is already completed, and shown in a book and an animated interactive CD rom which the user can use to move through the building which today lies in ruins in the Jordanian capital. In Granada work has been carried out on the Bañuelo building and the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo and there is a project in hand for the virtual reconstruction of the Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.

MUSEUM OF IBERIAN ART
After three years of negotiations an agreement has brought to reality one of the most important cultural projects in Jáen province and Andalucía. The signing of this agreement means the Hacienda ministry will hand over the lands of the old prison in the city centre to Jaén city council. At the same time the provincial government will stop legal action it had taken in the supreme court to reclaim the ownership of the land, and the regional government undertakes to build and pay for a museum on the site. The International Museum of Iberian Art, which has an initial budget of 30 million pesetas, will hold pieces from across the country and will use the latest technology to explain the Spanish legacy to the culture of the Mediterranean.

JAEN TOURISM WATCHDOG
A new watchdog will analyse the tourism situation in the province by quarterly , half yearly and annual reports. The studies will concentrate fundamentally on looking at both the characteristics of the tourists who come to Jaén as well as the offer available to them. It will also analyse the method of transport used, the type of reservations, accommodation, length of stay, grade of occupation and forecasts. To make this initiative a reality, the budget for which is 11.5 million pesetas, the provincial body plans to sign a cooperation agreement with Jaén University and the Caja Granada Foundation. The project forms part of a wide range of developments from the provincial government and has the objective of diversifying the economy of the province and consolidating tourism as a new source of economic income for the people of Jaén.

TOURISM BUDGET FOR MÁLAGA
Of the more than 4,000 million pesetas that the Tourism Board is to invest in Málaga, 2,000 will be used for promotion, some 1,500 in help and grants and the rest will be shared among the private companies which ask for it. José Hurtado, councillor for tourism says:
‘The future of a key sector of the Andalucian economy is at stake and as well as the budgets we have started to formally discuss the situation after the events of September 11th. This unpleasant and disagreeable event has served to make us aware that the tourism sector is a fragile one and for that reason needs permanent and continuous support.’

GOLF TOURISM
Golf tourism moved 100,000 million pesetas last year and, despite the unpleasant events on the international stage since September 11th, is maintaining the levels of previous years in as far as number of booking and occupation is concerned. In addition, according to latest figures, Andalucía is receiving tourists who had planned to travel to destinations now in areas of possible conflicts. Of the 700,000 tourists who travelled to Andalucía last year to play golf, 70% of them stayed in hotels, 15% in rented accommodation and 5% in time share. These figures confirm the importance and the growth this sport is having in the Andalucian community.

WORLD TRAVEL MARKET
Andalucía continues to be a holiday paradise for the British. In fact this year so far has seen 13% more visitors compared to last year when Andalucía welcomed three and a half million Britons. They are also tourists who travel at any time of the year, avoiding the traditional seasonal nature of the sector. The British who spend their holidays here have a high spending power, more so now with the pound sterling being the strongest currency in Europe. The World Travel Market has been the first tourism fair to be held since the events of September 11th and is the last before the introduction of the Euro. Despite that the perspectives are good and, for now, there is no sign in a slow down in bookings. If the feared crisis arrives, Andalucía is in a condition to face it. Manuel Chaves, President of the Junta de Andalucía says:
‘We have a very consolidated offer, some strong and strengthened structures which are guaranteed to successfully front any economic circumstance, including if signs of a slow down appear’ What is certain is that this edition of the World Travel Market has shown that Andalucía continues at the top of the list of the strongest tourist destinations in the world.

JOAQUÍN CORTÉS
With original music from Jesús Bola, Diego Carrasco, Juan Parrilla and Joaquín Cortés, ‘Live’ mixes flamenco, classical, arab, Sephardim, Jewish, afrocuban jazz and gospel music. The illumination of the show has been designed by Juanjo Beloqui and the sombre and elegant costumes have been created by Giorgio Armani. ‘Live’ opened in Barcelona in march this year and since then has travelled through nine countries in Latin America, Italy Portugal and Spain. In Andalucía Joaquín Cortés performs on Dec 1 and 2 in the Congress and exhibition hall in Granada, on the 9th and 10th in the Villamarta theatre in Jerez de la frontera, and on the 11th and 12th in the Cervantes theatre in Málaga.