With its all year-round sunshine and varied coastline, the Costa del Sol attracts crowds of tourists every year and has half a million foreign residents. Its most stylish resort is Marbella, frequented by royalty and film stars, who spend their summers here in the smart villas or luxury hotels overlooking the area's 28 beaches. Puerto Banus is its ostentatious marina.

In winter the major attraction is golf. 30 of Europe's finest golf courses lie just inland.

Granada

The ancient city of Granada, founded by the Iberians and was for 250 years the capital of a Moorish kingdom The Nasrid dynasty, who ruled from 1238 until 1492 when Granada fell to the Catholic Monarchs. They left some outstanding examples of Moorish architecture here. The greatest legacy of their rule is the spectacular palace complex of the Alhambra. Under the Nasrids the city enjoyed a golden age, acquiring an international reputation as a major cultural center. Later, under Christian rule, the city became a focus for the Renaissance.

Malaga

Malaga is the second largest city in Andalusia. Malaga was a thriving port under Phoenician, Roman, and Moorish rule. It also flourished during the 19th century, when sweet Malaga wine was one of Europe's most popular drinks, and this was one of Europe's most popular seaside resorts, that continues today.

Cordoba

Cordoba with its glorious mosque and pretty Moorish patios, Cordoba is northern Andalusia's star attraction. Its name may derive from Kartuba, Phoenician for "rich and precious city". In the 10th century the city enjoyed a golden age as the western capital of the Islamic empire.

Cordoba's most impressive Moorish monument is the mighty Mezquita.

Spain the land of sun, sand and sangria, is much more than a beach. Experience the rich diversity of Spanish culture and the majestic sites that Spain has to offer the adventurous Tourist.

Tourist industry in Spain

Tourism is Spain’s largest industry. It accounts for 10.1% of employment and 12.1% of GDP according to the Tourism Satellite Account.This is the result of the huge numbers of tourists that visit Spain every year, which totalled 52 million in 2002, 3.3% more than a year earlier, despite the global climate of political and economic instability and uncertainty.

Spain is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world and undoubtedly the leading country for beach holidays. It is the second largest destination after France in terms of the number of visitors and the second in terms of revenue generated after the USA. Both revenue and visitors have increased significantly over the last few years. Spanish tourism today is a solid, well-founded sector which has learnt to grow, consolidate and undertake large investments to improve quality at the right stage of the global economic cycle.

The sector has also known how to perform better than the competition in difficult situations such as the period following 9/11, demonstrating its capacity in terms of quality and competitiveness.

In the words of World Tourism Organisation General Secretary Francesco Frangialli: «Spanish tourism stands out for both the variety of activities it has to offer, which are no longer centred around beach holidays, and its regional diversity, which means that demand is not centred on the same locations any more».

Since demand for beach holidays in Spain has been consolidated, a policy of diversification in the tourist sector is being undertaken. This combines with new tendencies for more frequent, shorter holidays and different modes of transport to lead people to discover other itineraries and seasons in which to enjoy their leisure time and contribute to easing the seasonal effects of the tourist industry.

The Comprehensive Plan for Quality in Spanish Tourism The leadership of the Spanish tourist sector is based on quality. The Comprehensive Plan for Quality in Spanish Tourism (PICTE 2000) is the result of the many efforts made by both private and public sectors. The plan consists in the creation of demand for new products ranging from complementary activities to complete holidays, as well as renovating existing offers and generating public investment in infrastructure. The aim is to ensure that the concept of the «quality holiday» is a factor that makes Spain stand out from other destinations on the international markets.

The plan intends to give a response to the challenges facing tourism in Spain from 2000 to 2006. The time schedule of the plan has been designed to coincide with other EU programmes and initiatives so that some of the tasks of PICTE can benefit from EU community funds.

PICTE focuses on ten clear programmes:

—The Programme for quality in tourist destinations

—The Programme for quality in tourist products

—The Programme for quality in business sectors

—The Programme for quality training

—The Programme for R&D

—The Programme for the internationalisation of Spain’s tourist industry

—The Programme for international co-operation

—The Programme for statistic and economic analysis

—The Programme for promotion

—The Programme for support in marketing

The «Programme for quality in tourist destinations» gives the clearest view of the initiatives taken at various tourist destinations. It includes the «Plans for Excellence in Tourism», which deal with the recovery and regeneration of developed resorts, as well as the «Plans for the Activation of Tourism», which economically stimulate and boost emerging tourist destinations. The Programme also includes «Comprehensive management models for tourist destinations», which co-ordinate efforts in the various commercial sub-sectors so as to achieve a homogeneous standard of quality throughout a particular tourist destination. This year, 22 Plans for Excellence and Activation have been approved, reflecting investments of 53.1 million euros and bringing the total number of plans approved since 2000 to 88, in a campaign which has cost 172.2 million euros.