Tourism is Málaga’s principal industry, last year representing more than 13% of the province’s GDP which amounted to €8,000 million.

The event gets underway at 4pm, with a series of performances by Andalusian folklore dance groups, and at 5pm, coinciding with midnight in Beijing, the 25 members of the well-known Jin Fan dance group – the winners of the latest edition of the Festival of Dance celebrated in China – will be putting on a spectacular show.

Celebrating the transition from the Year of the Rabbit to the Year of the Dragon, the event at the Hipódromo Costa del Sol has been financed by the Chinese government and will be attended by the Chinese Consul General in Spain. Oh yes, and if you’re wondering about the date, well the reason why it’s been brought forward, is simply because the Jin Fan dancers have to be back home in time to welcome in the New Year in China which of course really starts on Monday 23 January.

So, if you thought you’d missed the boat, then you’ll be delighted to hear that Spain’s new Conservative (PP) Government – who swept to power in a landslide victory at the General Election on 20 November 2011 – have extended the IVA reduction on all sales of Spanish new-build homes until the end of 2012.

This means for example that if you’re purchasing a property with a price tag of €200,000, instead of paying the €16,000 IVA previously in force, the tax bill will now only equate to half that amount – €8,000. On a sliding scale, a property costing €400,000 will therefore only mean a tax bill of €16,000 instead of €32,000… and so on.

Just think what you could do with all the money you save!

98-year-old Doña Antonia plants an almond tree at The People's Forest in Marbella

The International Year of the Forest was drawing to a close when Marbella’s oldest resident – 98-year-old Antonia Aranda Fernández – planted an almond tree at The People’s Forest being created by Arboretum at Finca El Trapiche.

With five children, 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, when Antonia was told about the project to create a forest – made by and for the people of Marbella – with some 18,000 trees native to the area, she was impressed. “That’s an awful lot of trees,” she said, “but I like the idea and I’d like to take part. I can’t dig many holes nowadays, but I can still take care of the trees and plants.”

Born in 1913 to a local farming family, Antonia was one of 14 children and had a hard but rewarding life in close contact with the land and “fighting like a lioness” to provide for her family. Starting work in the fields at the tender age of 12, by the time she was 14 she was carrying sacks of flour in return for bread and oil, and when she was older she earned her living as a cleaner….

She remembers the time when Marbella was covered with trees and full of birdsong and says it makes her sad to see so few trees left. “My great-grandchildren don’t have a relationship with the earth and that’s not good,” she explains. “Having a connection with nature is important. You have to understand it and know what it can give us. When we were little, trees were everything, our playground and our larder.”

So, on 29 December and helped by her family and friends, Doña Antonia planted her almond tree and was presented with an olive wood carving of a turtle and an acorn, representing longevity, wisdom, strength and nobility – all of which she certainly possesses, and in spades!

2012 is an important year for Arboretum whose first tree-planting event was held last November and the environmental charity is always on the lookout for people to help them create the Marbella People’s Forest. There are several ways of getting involved with the project: By donating €5 a month; becoming a volunteer; or by getting your hands dirty and enjoying the countryside at the same time, at one of their ‘lend a hand’ events held on the second Saturday of each month.

A grove of Cork Oak trees, in Spanish known as Alcornocales.

Comprising trees, shrubs, grasses and vines, the Forest is being planted in accordance with the permaculture concept and will be both organic and sustainable, as well as playing an important role in protecting some of the region’s endangered native species such as the  Cork Oak.

In addition to transforming an area of scrubland into a beautiful public park, Arboretum also hold workshops, classes and regular open days where adults and children alike can get involved in the scheme, while learning about trees, the environment and sustainable land management. Not only will The People’s Forest add another dimension to Marbella’s tourist attractions and Costa del Sol leisure facilities, but it’s hoped that it will also create green jobs as well as promoting eco tourism abroad.

Well worth a read, the report additionally highlights the fact that in 2011 Spain also topped the Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer, showing overall how much money 10 key items in 14 different holiday resorts would set you back. With prices pegged at 2010 levels, Spain came out on top as Europe’s best-value destination.

As a spokesman for the Spanish Tourist Board in London explains, “Despite economic challenges and a shrinking outbound market, UK visitors to Spain are up 8.8% on the comparable period in 2010. Since the first flight-inclusive package holiday to the Costa del Sol in the early 60s, there has been a long history of British families taking their holidays in Spain…

“Spain’s culturally and geographically diverse landscape still has areas just beginning to welcome tourism, while other more mature areas are now differentiating and updating to compete with the global travel market. This wide and varied holiday offering gives visitors endless appeal and this is what keeps generations returning to all corners of Spain.”

For its own part, Skyscanner concludes that the number of package holidays available from the UK, a large British expat community of more than a million and in-resort holiday costs remaining low for the fourth consecutive year should all ensure Spain’s pole position for a number of years to come.

A separate report, by Spain’s daily newspaper El Mundo, also states that for the first time since 2008, overall investments during the three consecutive quarters were in excess of €1,000 million, while in the third quarter of 2011 foreign investment in Spanish property totalled €1,164 million – up a substantial 19.2% on figures for the same period in 2010.

Swan Lake: Demanding technical skills, stunning costumes and haunting music.

The internationally acclaimed Russian National Ballet Theatre, founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, are performing Tchaikovsky’s much loved Swan Lake (in Spanish billed as ‘El Lago de los Cisnes’) at the Teatro Cervantes in  Málaga on Sunday 8 January, Monday 9 January and Sunday January 15.

The first of the three ballets he was commissioned to compose for the head of the Russian Imperial Theatres in 1875, Swan Lake wasn’t an instant hit by any stretch of the imagination since conductors, dancers and audiences alike all thought his musical score was much too difficult and complicated to perform to, while its original choreography by Julius Reisinger was considered uninspiring and lacking in originality.

After Tchaikovsky’s death, however, the ballet was reconceived by legendary choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and has become one of the most iconic full-length ballets of all time.

Depicting the age-old struggle of good versus evil, Swan Lake is known for its demanding technical skills, its stunning costumes and haunting music. All the ingredients you’d expect from this magical fairy tale which has captivated and entertained audiences around the world for more than 100 years.

Swan Lake at the Teatro Cervantes, Málaga

Performances: Sunday 8 January 2012 at 7pm; Monday 9 January 2012 at 9pm; Sunday 15 January 2012 at 6pm.

For more information: T. +34 952 224 109

Ticket hotline: T. 902 360 295

Online tickets

Orange Square, Marbella

According to a recent report in Málaga’s provincial daily Diario Sur, in 2011 the Marbella town hall has processed 976 opening licences, a significant increase of 17.5% compared with 2010 when 806 applications were registered. So it’s very welcome news that despite the global economic crisis, entrepreneurs are betting on Marbella as their Costa del Sol town of choice when it comes to launching a new business.

“These figures reflect Marbella’s dynamism and the strength of its economy, even during such a difficult time,” said local mayor Ángeles Muñoz, who also pointed out the changes in legislation recently introduced by the town hall in order to streamline and simplify what had previously been a slow, complicated and cumbersome process.

In the case of a new bar, for example, reports first had to be produced by the Fire Brigade, as well as the Town Planning, Health and Industry departments meaning that the procedure could take more than a year to complete. But with the Industry delegation now solely responsible for the process, that length of time has been reduced to around three months, while some new businesses – such as fashion retailers and lawyers’ offices – are now often able to open on the very same day that the relevant documentation is presented.

This year’s 17.5% increase is in stark contrast to the previous three consecutive years when decreases in opening licences were recorded. In 2008 the figure for opening licences stood at 1,554, dropping by 18% in 2009 with 1,250 applications, and down again in 2010 with just 806 applications.

And the Spanish capital is the perfect place for The Adventure of Space Exhibition – which opened on 16 December 2011 and runs until 15 June 2012 – not only because if you’re on the Costa del Sol, then Madrid is just a 60-minute flight, or less than 2.5 hours away by high speed train, but also because the city has played a key role in NASA’s Space Program, and for that matter still does.

But more of that later, ‘cos unless Neil Armstrong’s inimitable words: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” – witnessed by millions around the world as he stood on the moon on 21 July 1969 – left you totally unmoved, then you’ll be itching to find out just what’s in store for you at this once in a lifetime exhibition…

Organised by John Nurminen Events & UAU in collaboration with Kansas Cosmosphere, the NASA: The Adventure of Space or in Spanish, NASA: La Aventura del Espacio: La Exposición, is an absolutely authentic experience chronicling the reality of the space adventure from its earliest beginnings… to future projects.

The dramatic and inspirational story about human achievement starts at the entrance to the pavilion, where there’s an exact replica of the gangway via which the Apollo 17 astronauts – the last to walk on the moon – entered their lunar module from the launch pad. Complete with the simulated atmosphere of a typically humid Florida night, as you look through the window, you can see the very same plastic bag in which Yuri Gagarin – the first man to orbit the Earth – kept his personal possessions during the flight. The scene set, your space voyage, which ends with the opportunity to experience zero gravity in a flight simulator, is just about to begin…

Arranged in chronological order, there are six different galleries to explore, namely: Go fever; Dreamers: Visualising space; Pioneers: The science and design of rockets; Innovation: Special space crafts: Equipment and communications; Resistance: Astronauts, spacesuits and EVA (Extravehicular Activity); and Next generation: Space and beyond.

Highlights of the show undoubtedly include the awesome replicas, many of which are life-size, and were built by Don Bies, the creator of Star Wars’ R2-D2 robot. Among them there’s a Gemini spacecraft complete with a recreation of the tiny cabin in which astronauts Jim Lovell and Frank Borman lived for 14 days; a Lunar Roving Vehicle; an Apollo cabin fitted out exactly as it was for a space mission; and the forward section of the Atlantis Space Shuttle. One of its real wheels is also on display, as is a fascinating 1:72 scale model of the International Space Station coupled to the Space Shuttle.

In the spacesuits section you can see inside one of the Portable Life Support Systems that enabled astronauts to work outside their Lunar Modules, while more basic but nonetheless authentic items include the staple diet of dehydrated food, as well as the bottles of vodka that accompanied Soviet cosmonauts on their early space flights.

In addition, you can get up close with projects that so far haven’t seen the light of day, such as the Apollo 18-20 lunar missions, the X-20 Dyna Soar and the Manned Orbital Laboratory, while recent projects together with some still on the drawing-board include the Hubble telescope, the Voyager I and II missions plus Mars Pioneer.

And the key role that the Spanish capital has played throughout the years in NASA’s Space Program?

Carlos González, the artistic curator of the Exhibition and former deputy director of the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, in Robledo de Chavela – one of only three NASA centers around the world to communicate with flights on missions in space – explains: “NASA has a close relationship with Madrid. It was at Robledo de Chavela that we received the first photograph of Mars taken by the Mariner space probe, and we also relayed messages from Apollo 11 when it landed on the moon.”

In fact, in the words of Neil Armstrong, “Without the vital communications between the Apollo 11 and the Madrid station in Robledo de Chavela, our moon landing would not have been possible.”

And while it was Robledo de Chavela that maintained contact with the command module, it was the Fresnedillas de la Oliva space station, also in Madrid – and where dozens of Spanish and American experts worked together four decades ago to ensure the moon landing was a success – which covered Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing.

Since the Mila and Bermuda space stations were both temporarily out of action, it was the Madrid facility which was key to determining the precise orbital parameters for the first manned flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program when Columbia was launched on 12 April 1981 and returned to Earth 54.5 hours later after having orbited the planet 37 times. Over the years, the Spanish capital’s space station has collaborated with most other international space agencies and the Robledo de Chavela base is still supporting scientific projects and will continue to do so in the future.

Yet more of the Spanish capital’s links with ‘the final frontier’ include the fact that Spain’s first astronaut, Pedro Duque – a member of the European Space Agency – was born in Madrid, as was Miguel López-Alegría who, after becoming an American citizen, joined the NASA team.

Actually, all things considered, it seems to me that the city’s famous ‘From Madrid to the heavens’ slogan – which in Spanish translates as ‘De Madrid al cielo’ – is much more than pure coincidence.

NASA: The Adventure of Space Exhibition is at Pavilion 12 of the Recinto Ferial de Campos, Avda. de Portugal, Madrid.

Open daily from 10am to 8pm until 15 June 2012 – but best to check in advance as it will be closed on public and local holidays.

Tickets: Adults €14 – Children €8 – Family Pack (2 adults + 2 children) €34 – Students & visitors aged 65 years+ €11

Admission includes an Audioguide available in English, Spanish, German or French.

For more information: T. +34 91 722 0400

Online tickets

The McLaren MP4-12C produces less than 330g/km of CO2

Following an agreement back in the summer with the Woking-based automotive innovators, Costa del Sol concessionaires Grupo Guarnieri have been named as the very first McLaren dealership in Spain and also covering Portugal, with the inauguration taking place on 15 December at the company’s Marbella showrooms in San Pedro.

Various different models from the British supercar manufacturer will be on display, including of course…

the McLaren MP4-12C which was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Specs include a carbon fibre MonoCell chassis, while the 3.8-litre V8 twin-turbo unit provides 600 HP and 600 Nm of torque, performance figures which mean it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds with a top speed of 330 km/h, and still produce less than 300g/km of CO2.

Already Spain’s sole importers for Pagani Automobili, as well as having been appointed Malaga’s first ever Official Ferrari Service Centre, Guarnieri’s official dealerships also include Porsche, BMW, MINI, Suzuki, Daihatsu and Subaru. What with its 40 years of experience and 70,00m2 premises – the Group has branches in Marbella, Málaga and Vélez-Málaga – it’s no surprise that McLaren have chosen the company to spearhead its planned expansion in Iberia.

The 3-8-litre V8 twin-turbo unit provides 600 HP and 600 Nm of torque

In fact, McLaren Automotive’s original intention was to headquarter its Spanish operation in Madrid, with a service centre in Marbella, whereas now it’s the other way round, and yet another example of a leading international luxury brand recognising Marbella’s unparalleled potential as a major centre of growth, wealth and expansion.