The exceptional culture offer and the amount of top-class golf courses in the region is partly the reason for the expansion of five-star hotels on the Costa del Sol . A recent study commissioned by the Observatorio Turístico shows that Malaga received more than 2.1 million cultural visits in 2003, most of these being visits to the Nerja Caves, which accounted for almost 500,000 visits. This study was carried out by the Planning and Development Society (Sopde) of the Malaga Provincial Government and the Tourist Board, and shows that there is a slight decrease in the number of visits to some of the traditional cultural attractions of the province, such as the Nerja Caves, the Gibralfaro, the Alcazaba and the Roman Theatre in Malaga, but the phenomenal success of the Picasso Museum has made up for this drop in cultural tourism.
After the Nerja Caves, the most popular cultural destination last year was the Bullfighting Museum in Ronda, with 423,353 visits; the Gibralfaro in Malaga (229,679), the Alcazaba in Malaga (199,228), the House Museum of the Villa de Mijas (135,100) and Picasso’s birthplace in Malaga, with 116,466 visits. In seventh position was the Contemporary Art Centre in Malaga.
By courtesy of Sur in English
