AMERICAN TOURISM CONGRESS
Seville in the month of November. This is the most important date for Andalucian tourism over forthcoming months as that is when the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) hold their congress. A real chance to promote the tourist attractions of the region in the United States.
For the tourism department of the Junta de Andalucía, the capture of the North American market, and later that of the Asian market, is the key to the growth and development of the main business in Andalucía over forthcoming years.

CORTIJO LOS BAÑOS (ALMERIA)
Calderón de la Barca said: ‘Life is a dream’. And in Cortijo Los Baños, in Lucainena de las Torres you can rest without asking for permission.
El Cortijo Los Baños is a corner of Almeria province where you can enjoy rural tourism, and where you can rest in what is a small oasis surrounded by a semi-desert landscape. El Cortijo Los Baños is more than 200 years old and keeps alive part of the mining history of the area. The old spa has returned to the bustle of the public and those who want to lose themselves. The waters which ebb and flow give a magical flavour to the hacienda. They are medicinal. El Cortijo Los Baños also offers the chance to go trekking and to take part in old traditions in special workshops. Vegetarian cooking also has its place. El Cortijo invites you to take part in this dream.

YOUNGSTERS IN THE ENVIRONMENT
More than 10,000 children will have the experience of leaving home for a few days in Málaga this summer, when they will live together with others of the same age in the heart of nature. With the classes over summer has arrived and a large number of Málaga families have enrolled their children for a summer camp or retreat which offers them activities during the holidays. From July the local councils and social and educational organisations have drawn up a carried offer to last the whole summer and where contact with nature is almost a constant part. It’s a great way to learn about nature and about how to live together.

RIU HOTEL CHAIN - HOTEL COSTA LAGO
The Riu hotel chain has strengthened its presence on the Costa del Sol with the acquisition of the Hotel Costa Lagos in Torremolinos. This 204 room establishment has been the property of Ruis Mateos for the past ten years. The Hotel Costa Lago has 4 stars and 3,000 square metres of gardens. It brings to seven the number of hotels operated by the Riu company in Andalucía - five of them on the Costa del Sol. The group is Catalan owned and has the intention of continuing its expansion along the Andalucian coastline - a destination that’s in ever increasing demand by tourists.

WINES AND PICASSO
The wines with the official denomination of Málaga and Sierra de Málaga will shortly have a new image. Each one of the back labels of the wines will be linked to the distinct artistic periods of the most international of Málaga’s artists, Pablo Ruiz Picasso. His cubic series, that dedicated to the world of bullfighting and even his blue and pink phases will be reflected on the wine labels. The wine organisation has decided to complete this change of image by printing smaller but more brightly coloured back labels. The new image will better serve to promote the local Málaga wines, a third of which are sold in countries such as France and Germany.

DE PUNTA A CABO
This year the visitors to beaches in Andalucía will have new options when it comes to sport in their free time. The first ‘De Punto a Cabo’ circuit places numerous activities at their disposal, ranging from traditional aerobics or jet skis to sports such as football, basketball or badminton on the beach. The circuit will cover the six coastal provinces of Andalucía. The tourism and sports department of the Junta de Andalucía and the Athenea sports centre have signed the agreement which makes this great sporting event possible. It starts on July 28 on the beach in La Herradura in Granada, and will end in Rincón de la Victoria in Málaga on August 26

OFFICE TO SUPERVISE TOURISM
The tourism department of the Junta de Andalucía plans to set up an office which will keep a watch on the quality of the offer to tourists in the region, according to the latest general tourism plan. This publically owned office will have powers to guarantee the defence of the tourist as a consumer and protect his rights. In addition it will promote the services and tourist destinations, watch over them and guarantee the quality of Andalucian tourism.

GRANADA MÁLAGA OLYMPIC PROJECT
The mayors of Málaga and Granada have underlined the importance for Andalucía of the holding of the winter Olympics here. They have also commented that the two cities are working together for the same aim. The Granada candidacy, which has the support of Málaga and Almeria, will compete with Jaca, Sarajevo, Vancouver and Andorra to hold the games. Málaga offers its hotel infrastructure, airport and the Martin Carpena sports pavilion.
The celebration of the Olympic games will reinforce the tourist image of Andalucía and will be an important economic boost to the region. The candidacy of Granada comes supported by the organisational success seen in the World Ski Championships held in the Sierra Nevada in 1996.

RESTORATION OF DOORS IN THE ALBAICÍN
The traditional district of Granada, the Albaicín is getting its old Arab doors back thanks to a restoration programme started by the Junta de Andalucía. The idea is to return the historic value to some of the most interesting places in the district and to revitalise the area. The budget for the project is 100 million pesetas with which the old Arco de las Pesas will be restored together with Las Puertas de Monaita and Fajaluza as well as 400 metres of the old arab walls. Thanks to the idea tourists will once again enjoy an unbeatable historic legacy.

GREEN ROUTE IN JAÉN
Mountain bike, leaders Jersies and politicians in the saddle. This strange ‘pelotón’ is made up of Spanish deputies and senators who organise the parliamentary cycle race each year. The first stage of this tour has taken place across 25 kms of Jaén province between Alcaudete and Martos. They peddled the old route of the train line which crosses the Andalucian region to demand its conversion into a Green Track. Restoring these old rail tracks for tourist use is the objective across many administrations who, on this occasion, have had the support and of course the effort of a singular commission.

INLAND TOURISM
The Arab Andalucía Heritage route, Washington Iriving’s route, the cuisine or the landscape are just some of the many charms which come together under the same name - Inland tourism in Andalucía. A sector which was pioneering in the region with the creation of the tourist rural hotels known as villas. Now, with ten per cent of the tourism total in the region and more than two million visitors, the sector continues to grow and is a continued target of the tourism target of the Junta de Andalucía. The increase and consolidation of the sector will be on show in October when the first inland tourism fair will be held in Jaén. Equally, another one of the actions of the tourism department to help development of the sector is the forthcoming approval of a tourism decree on Rural and Activity tourism.

EL CANTAL
Residents of Rincón de la Victoría, in Málaga, are calling for the area of El Cantal to be declared of official cultural interest, and in this way are opposing the construction of a real estate development in the area of some 500 homes. They say that the existence of the archaeological remains of exceptional interest in the high part of El Cantal justifies their position. The local residents association claims that the provincial government’s catalogue of local caves says there is scientific evidence to show the presence of undiscovered remains of great interest. They also defend the area as one of natural filtration and say the labyrinth of caves cover an area of more than 20,000 metres. An active natural space dating from Jurassic times and with the presence of stalactites and stalagmites.

START OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON BEACHES
With a uniform of shorts, t shirt, white cap and bag, the volunteer members of the Environment association GEMAS have started to distribute 200,000 small ‘beachcleaning boxes’ with which the local council and cleaning company FCC intends to improve the cleanliness of the sand. The volunteers are based in several lookout posts on the San Cristóbal, Puerta del Mar, Fuentepiedra and Velilla beaches - and distribute the boxes with information on their use together with tips on health and cleanliness and useful telephone numbers.

SYNAGOGUE AND SEPHARDIC MUSEUM MÁLAGA
Málaga city council has reached an agreement with the Jewish community for the construction of a synagogue and a Sephardic msueum.
The new construction will be another attraction for the Jewish area of the city between Calle Granada and Calle Alcazabilla and will serve to continue the redevelopment of the historic city centre. These enigmatic constructions will form part of a network of Jewish areas in Spain ‘Camino de Sefarad’ and will contain remains and historic documents from Andalucía and North Africa.

RECOMMENDATIONS
GARCIA LORCA HOUSE MUSEUM
This summer offers us the opportunity of enjoying an unbeatable place to mett and have fun for both young and old. The Federico García Lorca house museum, which was the summer residence of the poet and dramatist, is offering dance, theatre and children’s puppet spectaculars during the month of July. These summer activities programmed by the Huerta de San Vicente also include the celebration of a traditional ‘verbena’ and a guitar concert. It is a permanent homage to Federico García Lorca who, through the museum, keeps his figure alive. The museum also helps to promote the extensive literary legend left by the poet and dramatist from Fuentevaqueros.

COSTA DEL SOL
The Costa del Sol, in the province of Málaga, is becoming one of the most important leisure destinations in the country. Proof of this are the numerous projects that are being started. And Málaga already has one of the widest leisure offers in Spain, for all publics.
The Tivoli attractions park has, for the last 25 years, offered all sorts of attractions and international shows. The three water parks distributed along the coast cool down the summer while the Sea Life underwater park offers the most varied marine species. We can say the same about the Selwo nature park in Estepona where more than 2000 species of animals live in semi-freedom in an area of a million square metres.
Horse racing, Art galleries, Bullrings, Flamenco Shows..and an endless list of other options make up a fun filled offer that is hard to beat.

NUDIST BEACHES
Lovers of nudism can enjoy 40 beaches in Andalucía open to bathers where nudism can be enjoyed. Málaga province has eight beaches of this type, both in the city and along the coast and also has two nudist centres, in Torre del Mar and Estepona. But it is the province of Cádiz which has most nudist beaches - a total of thirteen, among them the Playa de Puntacandor in Rota, Bolonia and Sotogrande, Tarifa, and the marvellous coves of Conil de la Frontera. Unbeatable surroundings for all tastes - from wide beaches surrounded by vegetation to small coves hidden among rocks.

AGENDA JULY 17 - 24 2001
From this Tuesday 17th to Sunday 22, the 4th edition of the Andalucian Street Theatre Festival will take place in Marbella

The National Classical Theatre Company perform ‘Alcalde de Zalamea’ by Calderón de la Barca, in the Theatre and Dance festival which continues in the Huelva town of Niebla.

Saturday 21, Sunday 22 and Wednesday 25 July, the Israeli contemporary dance company Kibbutz perform on the Patio de la Montería in the Seville Alcázar as part of the Itálica International Dance Festival.

La Linea de la Concepción, in Cádiz province, holds its popular fiestas known as ‘La Salvaora’ until Sunday 22 of this month.

The Town of Cazorla International Blues Festival is held in this Jáen province town from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 of July with the presence of eight bands.

The fairground area at Priego de Córdoba holds the Asituna Rock Festival until Saturday 21.

The Majuelo park in the Granada town of Almuñecar is the scene for the Jazz in the Coast festival until Saturday July 21

The Martín Carpena Sports hall in Málaga hosts a concert by the group Jarabe de Palo on Friday July 27

The Town of Ayamonte golf trophy is held the Isla Canela golf club of this Huelva province town on Saturday 28th of this month.

The Nerja caves festival starts on Tuesday July 24 with a gala performance of José Carreras. The prestigious Málaga event continues until Saturday 28 with the Málaga city orchestra, French ballet and flamenco.

The Alcoba summerhouse in the Seville Real Alcázar is holding a cycle of concerts throughout the summer - ‘Nights in the gardens of the Alcázar’ and during which a tour of musical periods will be made.

The Vélez-Málaga guitar festival takes places in the Beniel palace in the town until Tuesday July 24.

The Huelva town of Lepe hosts the ‘Playa de Islantilla’ mile race on Saturday 28 July.

Molvizar and Salar in the province of Granada celebrate fiestas in honour of Santa Ana on Thursday 26 of this month.