JAÉN BEATS ITS RECORD FOR VISITORS
The province of Jaén last year beat its record figure for the number of tourists, reaching 516,400 visitors, according to figures just released from the provincial government.
It's the very first time that the province of Jaén has seen more than 500,000 visitors in a year. The percentage increase in visitor numbers was 3% for national tourists and 5% for foreigners. The number of overnight stays was up 7% and over 790,000, of which nearly 129,000 were from foreign tourists. As regards the average stay, this is at something over a day and a half, also a higher figure than for the previous year.
Without doubt part of this success corresponds to the promotional work which the Jaén provincial government carried out last year and was reflected in their presence in more than 20 national and international tourist fairs, the printing of 40,000 promotional leaflets and the carrying out of numerous familiarisation trips for more than 100 travel agents and tour operators.

MÁLAGA WINES
The ruling council of the Official Málaga Wine Producing Area exported a million litres of wine during 2001 – a third of the total production. Most of the wines destined for export were sold in France and Germany, although the council has among its objectives the introduction of the sweet Málaga wine into new markets such as the British and those in Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, the Hojiblanca Malaga Olive Oil cooperative is to spend some 6 million € in 2002 on the construction of the Olive Oil Museum, the opening of new installations and the extension of those it already owns in Antequera. The museum, which will be completed for the first quarter of 2003, includes two mills – one a timber press from the 17th century and the other Roman from the 5th century.
The Hojiblanca company ended 2001 with sales of around 12,000 million pesetas, 72 million €, and doubled the amount of oil sent for export compared to that of the previous year.

BEACH REGENERATION
The regional tourism councillor, José Hurtado, called on central government some days ago for the repair work to be carried out for the storm damage caused in the province. Hurtado said it would have a very negative effect if the beaches were not in a good condition for Easter, the time when many tourists decide on their bookings for the summer.
'There is a great logical and reasonable unease in the tourist industry as we are risking the summer season, which is the most important season for Andalucía and the Costa del Sol. We are risking it because central government doesn't want to immediately start the regeneration works along the coast'
The councillor made these declarations during the signing of an agreement with Málaga University which will allow the creation of a thorough investigation into tourist images of Andalucía. The agreement will allow for the image which the autonomous region has to be renewed, both in text books and in leaflets and tourist guides.

THE ALHAMBRA PROGRAMMES MORE THAN 50 SHOWS FOR 2002
The stage of the Alhambra Theatre in Granada will host more than 50 spectaculars from 15 companies in the first quarter of the 2002 season. Among the most notable we find a version of 'The Magic Flute' for children, an argument against the ostracizing of immigrants in the work 'La noche justo antes de los bosques', a flamenco cycle, and another for contemporary music. The programme for the Alhambra theatre also will see shows such as 'El extraorinario vuelo de los ángeles' from the group Axioma, 'Macbétes' from La Licorne Theatre, Elecktra' from Atalaya and a new version of Blood Wedding from the Guindalera company.
In addition to the theatrical shows, there will be a cycle of Flamenco events in which Diego Carrasco, Manuel Mairena, José de la Tomasa, Antonio Agujetas and Chocolate will take part. In addition the theatre will host the 13th contemporary music days and several shows dedicated to the world of dance.

THE PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR CAZORLA WILL START IN MARCH WITH AN ACT IN HONOUR FOR FÉLIZ RODRÍGUEZ DE LA FUENTE
The promotional campaign for the Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Nature Park will start on March 14 with an act in honour for Féliz Rodríguez de la Fuente, one of the main promoters of this natural space.
The initiative will start with the placing of a monolith and will contain an exhibition and tourist route which will remind us of the relation between this place and this magnificent researcher and ecologist.
The Environmental council, the Jáen provincial government, Hotel businessmen, the Granada and Jáen savings banks and different associations for the development of the province are all taking part in the campaign. The initiative will also serve to re-launch the image of the natural space after the fire which affected 836 hectares of pine on July 31 last year. In this sense it will promote the rich natural heritage of the area, present its tourist services and continue to promote an environmental quality and awareness. The Cazorla tourist route will start before the summer and run close to Las Navas de San Pedro, right in the very heart of the natural park and where the series 'El hombre y la tierra' was filmed. In addition an interactive exhibition will be organised, mobile and with several themes, and which will be taken to Madrid on June 5 to coincide with World Environment Day.

THE FUTURE PICASSO MUSEUM WILL ANNUALLY ATTRACT NEARLY A MILLION AND A HALF VISITORS
The future Picasso Museum will attract nearly a million and a half visitors to Málaga, who will spend 16 million €, according to the data from a recent report. According to this study, this figure will correspond to the amount spent on services by the visitors, mainly on meals and accommodation. According to the report, the Picasso Museum will bring 300,000 tourists to the city, in addition to the million it already welcomes each year. The museum will also bring an improvement in the national and international image of the city, an increase in commercial, hotel and restaurant activity, and in the numbers of overnight stays, as well as increasing an interest for culture and art.

AFRICAN CHILDREN PAINTING EXHIBITION
Córdoba, Almería, Huelva and Cádiz are some of the Andalucian cities which will host the exhibition 'A day we had to flee – the words of the children, the drawings of the children' a show organised by the España con Acnur Association, in which some 20 drawings and 9 stories from refugee children aged between 10 and 17 will be on show. They come from the countries of the horn of Africa, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia.
It seems that the idea for the exhibition arose when a member of the Acnur cooperative organised some workshops on a refugee camp in Kenya where the children could tell some stories about their countries of origin and their experience as refugees. After the workshops it was decided to compile the results into an exhibition which has already been on show in Great Britain and some other Spanish cities.
The show has already visited the Reina Sofia in Madrid and galleries in Jáen, the Basque Country, Navarra and Valencia.

MÁLAGA TOURIST BUS
The Málaga tourist bus has welcomed a total of 35,280 users over its first five months of operation, those being the summer months when tourist numbers are at their highest.
In fact, during the months of August and September more than 14,700 people travelled the main streets of the city on this original means of transport. Although the highest percentage of users are tourists, the service has also been used by locals who made up 10% of the travellers, a total of 3,660 – most of them children.
This tourist transport, which started operation last July, has two routes – one through classic Málaga, which passes through the centre, La Malagueta, the Bullring. Gibralfaro and the Cathedral among other places; and the other through Green Málaga, which offers a visit to the La Concepción Botanical Garden.
The ticket, the price of which ranges from 900 to 1,800 pesetas, is valid for the 24 hours of the day and allows the passenger to get on and off the bus as often as wished.

ARTE SEVILLA 2002
The Seville congress and exhibition hall has been the scene of a new edition of Artesevilla, a fair which each year presents the new attractions and different tendencies in contemporary art.
The regional tourism councillor José Hurtado, who had the honour of opening the 4th edition of the show, said the show was consolidating itself as an alternative to the typical image of the city. In addition, he spoke of the attractive power over visitors that this type of events brought. The fair hosted some 60 galleries from Spain, Portugal, Japan and the United States, and displayed some 3,500 works of art. Among them there were drawings by Picasso, Matisse and Guayasamín, and lithographs from Tápies and Saura.