Most popular attraction

THE Castle of Santa Barbara was the most visited monument in Alicante and the main tourist attraction of the city last month.

In the month of July, 102,372 people visited the fortress, a figure that exceeds that of July 2022 by 5,190, 5.3 per cent more.

So far in 2023, more than 400,000 people have passed through the Castle, a figure that has also increased compared to the same period last year, with the expectation of exceeding 700,000 by the end of the year.

The annual activities at the Castle include tastings, live

121,070 communal swimming pools in Spain

music and guided and dramatised tours in a programme that is extended during the summer season. Added to this offer are specific events, such as the Pirate Market that will take place on August 18, 19 and 20.

On Tuesday, August 8, the councillor for Tourism, Ana Poquet, said that “the objec­ tive with these revitalisation activities is to offer both Alicante residents and tourists a wide range of leisure activities aimed at all audiences in an emblematic space of the city.” The councillor was satisfied “by the success achieved so far” and hopes to “break a new record that exceeds the 700,000 visitors of last year.”

Flag raised again

THE blue flag is flying again in Cala Mosca, Orihuela, after it was lowered when an effluent spill was detected on the beach. The councillor for the Coast, Manuel Mestre, explained that “the auditors of the Aceac Foundation, which are the ones that certify whether a beach meets the conditions to obtain the flag, decided to provisionally lower the blue flag a couple of weeks ago.

“On a visit we made to the beach, we saw an effluent spill and, as a precaution, the flag was removed while its origin was investigated,” he added.

However, the analysis of the water and sand confirmed on Tuesday, August 8, that the water and sand from Cala Mosca had an “excellent” quality. “We have worked to recover the blue flag as soon as possible, so that the 11 emblems, which make Orihuela the municipality of the Valencian Community with the most blue flags, fly on all the beaches” said Mestre. The flag was raised again on Friday, August 11.

Anna Ellis

THE Special Scheme for the Self­Employed (RETA) closed the seventh month of the year with a monthly loss of 1,314 self­employed workers in Andalucia (­0.2 per cent), with Sevilla being the province with the largest loss (­0.6 per cent). This decline was marked by the fall in enrolment in education (­4.6 per cent) and com­ merce (­0.2).

The total number of self­employed workers has reached 3,344,562 self­employed workers in Spain and 570,615 in Andalucia.

The president of ATA An­ dalucia, Rafael Amor, confirmed: “The data known today on enrolment in Andalucia are within normality.

“Of the fall in self­employed workers, more than half are in education, a sector that tends to reduce its activity in the summer months.

“Nevertheless, we continue to be a leading region in terms of the number of self­employed, with more than 570,000.

“So far this year, one out of every three self­employed people who have registered in Spain is Andalucian,” said Rafael Amor, who believes that the growth of the self­employed in Andalucia is due to the fact that “Andalucia is a land of entrepreneurship and there are many facilities for starting up your own business.”

Comparing 2023 with 2022:

In the data on the self­employed, if we compare with July 2022, the Social Security data show that the communities with the greatest weight of tourism have increased their enrolment in Spain over the last year, while nine have lost self­employed workers, in addition to the two autonomous cities.

In other words, if we compare July 2022 with July 2023,