GOLF PROFESSIONALS CONGRESS
The Costa del Sol, in Málaga, is one of the places where a great many golf players travel each year to enjoy the courses in the area. This year the Málaga coast once again becomes the centre of attraction for the sport, because during the months of December and January the first Master Hotels Golf Festival will be held in the Hotel Atalaya Park in Estepona and the Don Miguel in Marbella. It includes trophies open to all, exhibitions, seminars and gastronomic tastings. In addition the hotel in Estepona will host, for the 7th consecutive year, the annual meeting of the Association of European Golf Professionals, which represents 33 golf associations and has more than 11,000 members. Among them we find top ranking players, who will at the Atalaya Park until January 15. The event will coincide with the celebration, in the same place, of the Second World Congress of Golf Professionals, between the 13 and 15th December, once again with varied meetings, conferences and seminars.

HUELVA DOLMENS - ANDALUCIAN HERITAGE
A total of 23 megalithic structures in the Sierra de Huelva will be registered in the General Catalogue of Andalucian Historic Heritage, once the process started by the Junta de Andalucia to have their inclusion is completed. They are 20 protected dolmens located in the areas of Aroche, Cortegana, Rosal de la Frontera and Puerto Moral. The dolmens of the Huelva Sierra, used as collective tombs, date from between 1600 and 3000 BC and area made up of stone built vertically on the ground. The start of the paper work to get them included in the Catalogue of Andalucian Historic Heritage has required some new studies which have in turn given new data on their exact boundaries, state of preservation and size.

MIGAS FIESTA - TORROX
The village of Torrox on the Málaga coastline is already preparing to celebrate their traditional Migas Fiesta for yet another year. Every year more than 30,000 people head to this beautiful village to taste one of the most typical dishes of Andalucian cuisine. This figure will, no doubt, be beaten on December 16 when all Torrox takes to the streets in order to offer visitors a plate of Migas made from the best local bread. The fiesta, declared of National Tourist Interest in Andalucía, has become with the passing of time, one of the most popular meetings in Málaga. So, join the crowd and set December 16th for the enjoyment of Torrox and a splendid dish of migas, both simple and tasty, washed down with the best local wine in the streets of a village which still, in its centre, preserves a clear Moorish influence.

FIESTA DEL MOSTO AND LA TOSTÁ
One of the most popular Andalucian fiestas at this time of the year is the Mosto y la Tostá which is celebrated in the Huelva locality of Gibraleón. On December 16th the locals will hold the 11th edition of the fiesta, and invite visitors to taste their splendid olive oil on toast. This tasty dish, so typical of Andalucian cuisine, will be accompanied by Mosto grape juice and sardines, all on offer to everyone who goes to the village located just a few kilometres from Huelva itself. Here there is a long tradition of Mosto taverns, which each year offer a free tasting of the grape juice. In this way Gibraleón will on December 16, make its wonderful wines and olive oil a little better known. And once you’re there nothing better than the views of the marshlands of the Odiel River, a highly preserved natural landscape where elegant flamingos can also be seen wading.

PROMOTION OF CAZORLA
The provincial government of Jaén is to invest 50 million pesetas in a promotion campaign for the Cazorla Segura y Las Villas Nature Park. It will be carried out in collaboration with the Regional Environment council, the Hotel sector and the ‘La General’ savings bank from Granada. The idea came after the fire which affected this natural enclave last summer when 836 hectares of pine, of a high ecological value were destroyed by the flames. The promotion includes the development of a series of activities in honour of Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, one of the main promoters of the park, considered to be the largest in Spain with 214,000 hectares. In addition the Jaén city hall are working on a large exhibition which intends to show all Spain the attractions of the park. The president of the provincial government, Felipe López, indicated that the area has been the main tourist attraction of the province of Jaén for some time, and now this initiative intended to boost the image of the park nationwide. The campaign is practically ready and awaits only the signing of the agreement between the Administrations and Institutions which support it.

MEETING OF THE TOURIST BOARD, IN RONDA
The Junta de Andalucía is spending more than 5,000 million pesetas this year on the creation and improvement of tourist facilities, as well as on the development of rural tourism. This amount will be increased by a further 500 million next year, following an announcement from the members of the Mesa del Turismo or tourist board which have been meeting recently in the Málaga town of Ronda. The rural tourism funding can be applied for by projects which take place in villages where the population is under 20,000 inhabitants. The Tourism Board meanwhile continues to draw up ten new decrees which will make up the new Tourism Law which will cover both rural and adventure tourism. The new law will cover the range of rural accommodation, as well as the creation of the Mesón Rural, with which the rich Andalucian cuisine will be promoted. The members of the tourist board are also looking at the creation of a training centre in each of the Andalucian provinces, with the idea of meeting the increasing demand for qualified personnel in the tourist industry.

SIERRA NEVADA 2001 2002 SEASON
The Sierra Nevada Ski Station in Granada, has already started the season with important new attractions for the thousands of sports lovers who head to the facilities each year. This year Sierra Nevada has new 4 and 6 seater chair lifts which double the current capacity, and a new hands free fortait or pass which gives access to all of them just by carrying it in your pocket. There are, in addition ski slopes for everyone, signed by different colours according to the skill and experience of each skier. You can also try out long distance skiing, slalom, night skiing and snow-boarding - and for the experts who like a challenge, the more difficult slopes of La Laguna or EL Veleta. The Granada ski station has, without doubt, some excellent facilities which this year have once again obtained the Q award for tourism quality - one of just 11 ski stations in Spain considered to be of this standard.

TREN DE CONDADO- NEW SEASON
‘The Condado train - the fighting bull in his natural habitat’ - which offers a weekend visit to the stud farms of the Jaén fighting bulls, has just started its second season. This initiative, defined as a cultural journey to discover the bull in his habitat, takes place over a weekend in the Jaén district of El Condado, and begins when the travellers board the train at the Atocha station in Madrid. During the trip a team of guides supply them with documents and give more details on the localities of the area. The travellers are met in Vilches, and taken to a stud farm where the various aspects related to the process are explained in detail, giving them the chance to witness the life of a bull up close. This enterprise, in which two stud farms and 15 local companies are taking part, it’s intended to show the beauty of the bull in his natural habitat. The Tren del Condado tourism project, which last year attracted 800 travellers from across Spain, now wants to attract groups of businessmen and foreign tourists.