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.

RESTORATION OF THE SANTA MARÍA CHURCH IN ÚBEDA
The regional government is to spend 300,000 € in the third phase of the restoration works on the Santa María de los Reales Alcázares Church in Úbeda, in Jáen province.
Central government has so far invested nearly 2.5 million € and is still to award 900,000 more in later phases, with the target of completing the entire project around the year 2003.
The third phase is centred on the completion of the side chapels, the carpentry work, railings and the support of the walls. This building has been closed for more than 15 years because of its bad state of repair following years of neglect.
In a parallel move the Heritage Commission has approved the restoration projects for another five monuments in the town, which are the Salvador church, The Palace of Justice, The Santa Clara Monestary, the Los Condes de Guadiana Palace, and the Parador Tourist Hotel, the design of which will be reformed and an archaeological garden.

PUERTO BANUS BEATS ITS RECORD FOR MOORINGS AND VISITORS IN 2001
The Puerto Banús marina, one of the best known spots of Marbella, last year reached a historic high in the numbers of boats and visitors. According to figures from the port management company the number of boats was up 6.7% and the number of people to visit the installations rose above five millions. After the event of September 11th, which caused a change in the routes and stop off points of many leisure craft, Puerto Banús registered an increase in the arrivals of the larger vessels.
According to the year end figures, the busiest day was August 18th with 900 boats moored. In addition it's calculated that in that month more than a million people came to the port. All this does no more than increase the ideas of the Puerto Banús authorities to extend the facilities. The regional administration continues to study the expansion plans presented last July, plans which intend to make the port the most modern sports marina in Europe with 1,260 moorings.

REFORMS OF THE CONGRESS PALACE IN TORREMOLINOS
The Congress Palace in Torremolinos is to modernise some of its facilities with a budget of 1,800,000 €. Among the plans for the complex are the creation of a 4,000 square metre open air hall to be placed at the back of the site. The new hall will be used for a permanent exhibition space for open air shows. Another of the planned improvements is the completion of the waterproofing of the roof, work which started in the year 2000 and will be completed this year. Although the budget is still awaiting approval, all indicates that that the extension of the main hall will be carried out in 2003. This will allow the current capacity of 1000 to reach 2,500.

MEDITERRANEAN DIET INSTITUTE
The Andalucian Mediterranean Diet Institute will open its doors in May, housed in a building of more than 1000 square metres in the Andalucía Technology Park. This new body, which will validate the quality and guarantee of Andalucian products, will be responsible also to re-launch and promote the authentic Mediterranean diet in the countries of the European Union. Olive oil, fruits, vegetables, blue fish, cheese, nuts and the other products made in Andalucía will be properly promoted from this new institution.
The body will also support the activities of the three agro-alimentary parks which will be set up in Vélez-Málaga, Ronda and Campillos. In addition the management are looking at the possibilities of offering certificates for quality and proof of origin for olive oils, cheeses and wines. In total more than 200 companies will form part of the European Mediterranean Diet Institute Foundation, a body which will promote the Mediterranean diet and research into its best qualities.
There are many scientific studies which show the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet in health and especially when related to cardiovascular illnesses and cancer.

MÁLAGA FILM FESTIVAL
The Málaga Spanish Film Festival has brought forward its date by a month so it has access to a larger number of films. In total there will be 16 films taking part in the competition of the 5th edition of one of the most important festivals for Spanish cinema.
The festival, which will be held between April 26 and May 4, will have a budget of nearly 400 million pesetas, an amount making it the second richest film festival in Spain. The poster for the event, based around a bull's head, has been made by Antonio Herráiz.
A new feature this year will see the Málaga festival promoting Mercadoc – an international documental film market, with a greater presence of the format. In addition the second documental congress will be held with some 40 items taking part.
Also, two new sections have been created – Latin American Territory – where the winning films from the Biarritz Latin American Festival will be shown, and – Come to the cinema for a Euro – which will offer us the chance of attending the Albéniz cinema each midnight for just 1 €.

THE ALHAMBRA RESTORES EL PEINADOR DE LA REINA AND LA SALA DE LOS SECRETOS
The management of the Alhambra and the Generalife has restored El Peinador de la Reina and La Sala de los Secretos, two of the most beautiful and unknown places in the monument.
In total the budget for both projects has risen to more than 60 million pesetas, the largest part of which has been spent on the restoration of El Peinador de la Reina. Work has been carried out for more than two years on this most beautiful part of the monument, with the specialists using the most modern techniques to restore the paintings, recover the canvases and wood as well as the floor.
As far as the Sala de los Secretos is concerned, the work has seen an investment of some 15 million pesetas and has been concentrated on the strengthening of the walls, the closure of a recently formed hole, the repositioning of the floor and in the installation of a new illumination system.
Meanwhile the management of the Alhambra and the Generalife will this year offer a programme of guided visits by experts on the monument, which will give the visitor a deeper look at the Nazarene complex. The programme, which will operate between February and May, has been divided into twelve theme blocks which will show details of the architecture of the Alhambra, its gardens, the water channels, the paintings and the basements of the monument, among others. Visits, which have to be pre-booked, will take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and consist of groups of 25 people, who will make their tour accompanied by a specialist in each one of the themes.