TOURIST TRAINING CENTRE FOR LA CALA

Regional government recently announced that it was to construct a leisure industry training centre in Mijas. Now a 30,000 square metre site has been found for the 2,000 million peseta project to the north of the N-340 at La Cala. The centre is due to be opened in 2003 and will consist of class rooms and learning areas, administration zones, meeting halls, a 56 room hotel plus a residence hall for 120 students

SWIMMING TIME FOR THE HANDICAPPED

Fuengirola will very shortly have a unique beach, which is totally adapted for the needs of the handicapped on the Costa del Sol, and also the best equipped in ANDALUCIA. The works to adapt the Las Gavioutas beach will be finished in July. Once competed, many handicapped people will be able to enjoy a bathe in the sea with the technical help provided.

ANOTHER GOLF COURSE

San Roque Town Hall has accepted an offer by the San Roque club to build a golf course at Guadalquitón.. The course will occupy a site of 60 hectares, which was set aside for sports use in 1982. The San Roque club, which is owned by Japanese company Asahi Kanko, bid 50 million pesetas to secure the project.

TECHNOLOGICAL GOLF

New plans for expansion at the ANDALUCIA Technology Park (PTA) in Málaga have been announced and include the inclusion of a golf course at the site, which its claimed, would make the difference between Málaga and other parks of its type. The plan is in addition to the construction of a new 'incubator' for new businesses, which has a budget of 1,000 million pesetas and is expected to be completed of November this year.

ALMERIA OLIVE MUSEUM

The old city of Almeria now has its first museum. The new attraction which is dedicated to olive oil is housed in a building dating from the nineteenth century and opened last weekend. Audiovisual displays and an exhibition in the basement inform the visitor on the old production methods for olive oil and of course all visitors are offered to try some of the best virgin oil on bread. The 45 minute visit costs 500 pesetas.

AIRPORT SPEND

The official state bulletin has published plans to spend nearly 100 million pesetas on improvements to Málaga airport. The money will be spent over the next 12 months on improvements to the air conditioning, fire detectors and water treatment.

WORLD AIR GAMES

Fans of adventure sports will not want to miss the 2nd world air competitions, which are being held in difference Andalucian cities from June 23 to June 30. A total of 47 countries are taking part in these spectacular games, grouped into 11 sections, such as parachuting, hand gliding, aerobatics, microlights and hot air balloons. A grand event which takes place in some of the best Andalucian settings, such as the peaks of the Sierra Nevada where unbeatable conditions are found for hang gliding.

The localities of Algodonales and Jerez in Cádiz province, Palma del Rio in Córdoba, Beas de Segura in Jaen and Seville, are some of the places where these aero games will be held.

UNESCO DIPLOMA FOR SIERRA DE LA NIEVES

The Spanish Committee of the MAB programme of UNESCO has presented the town halls of the Sierra de las Nieves with a diploma accrediting them as a reserve of the biosphere. The presentation took place on the sixth anniversary of the declaration and coincided with the first 'Days of the Sierra Nieves' festival. The Sierra de la Nieves were first registered by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve in 1995 after an initiative by the local people and their town halls. The municipalities involved in the project are Alozaina, Casarabonela, el Burgo, Guaro, Istán, Monda, Ojén, Paurato, Tolox, Yunquera and parts of Ronda. Each town hall will receive a copy of the diploma.

LET'S TAKE A DIP IN ALMUÑECAR

Almuñecar is not just beach and sea; the mountain range behind offers a host of other possibilities, To a spectacular backdrop of rocky mountains. Almuñecar Town Hall has inaugurated a swimming pool complete with other facilities in an area known as Peña Escrita. The Mayor of Almuñecar was present at the opening of the complex, which comprises a pool with a waterfall, a solarium and a small bar. More viewing points have been opened which offer other angles of the majestic scenery of the surrounding countryside with the Sierra Nevada on one side and the sea on the other.

The wildlife and fauna of Peña Escrita have also been taken into account, with typical trees of the region replanted in areas where they had disappeared. Wild deer, goats and the occasional eagle can also be sighted, with the added curiosity of a resident group of ostriches, which are cared for with special attention.

This offer of rural tourism is accessible by car, about 40 minutes from Almuñecar and can also be reached by means of taking up the services of Ruraltropic - a company specialising in rural tourism that can take you on guided tours in capable 4 x 4s.

Accommodation in wooden chalets is also available, another way of making the most of this beautiful unspoilt area.

PICASSO SIGNS FOR THE MUSEUM

The Picasso Foundation has announced plans to use the signature of the Málaga-born painter as the new corporate image for the Foundation and the new Picasso Museum being set up in Málaga. The foundation has also launched a new web page, which has cost half a million pesetas. Visitors will be able to access the nearly 8,000 books and 35,000 articles on Picasso which are currently held in the foundation's documents centre. There has however been some criticism, mostly from foreign tourists, who have already seen some of the advance publicity for Málaga's Picasso Museum, who express disappointment when they discover that in fact it is yet to open.

TOURIST BOARD WANTS MORE PUBLIC GOLF COURSES

The Costa del Sol tourist board has announced that it would like to see more golf courses in the area, and the board's president, Juan Fraile, even went as far as to say he saw no reason why a network of publicly owned golf courses should not be built. He said the current private membership control of courses was slowing down the expansion of the sport, restricting those who only wanted to play occasionally. He encouraged local councils to investigate ways of constructing courses using public money, describing inland towns and the Eastern Costa del Sol as 'ideal locations' for such new golf courses. Málaga province already has the highest concentration of golf courses in all of continental Europe with more than 25 per cent of the courses in Spain. It's been estimated that 1.5 million people teed off on the Costa del Sol last year.