23.05.2022
Gradually, the commercial and historical center of Paphos comes to life. Five years after the completion of the largest and most expensive renovation and modernization project ever undertaken in the city, and with one after another the lifting of restrictions associated with the pandemic, the movement in the historical part of Paphos is as intense as ever. at the traffic level as well as at the commercial activity level.
However, complaints and protests about the one-sided direction that has been set and is now consolidated in this development are increasingly intensifying among the traditional shopkeepers in the area, as well as among members of the municipal government. And this despite the fact that the renovated historical and commercial center of the city over the past three years has become the center of Paphos nightlife, but apart from commercial traffic and support for retail stores, the situation, the directly concerned parties complain, is not only not growing accordingly, but is increasingly declining .
The acknowledgment of both municipal actors and merchants in the area is that despite continuous efforts and a campaign to attract visitors on a permanent basis, the situation is still far from satisfactory as envisioned when restoration work began.
“The efforts have borne fruit, only in terms of nightly entertainment,” they note. “However, in terms of store traffic, we are in the same denominator before the renovation.”
Frustration among the vast majority of shopkeepers and others involved in retailing at the Paphos Mall has been growing recently as business in the city continues to sluggish despite the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and an ever-increasing resumption of activities such as tourism . However, according to traders’ representatives, the movement in the market is still moving at a very low level, except in the case of some large department stores.
“This is further proof of the correctness of the assumption that the shock of the pandemic and its economic consequences will make citizens wary of how they manage their money for a long time,” market representatives said. “Now we can say with confidence that things are worse in Paphos than previously thought by the economic operators and businessmen of the province on the work of the market in a pandemic, with the exception of the catering part.”
The mentioned departments indicated yesterday that it is now clear that the situation will not improve immediately in terms of economic indicators, even if in practice the operation of the retail industry now looks smooth, since before the situation with the pandemic even completely normalized, the exogenous factor of the war in Ukraine came to further worsen the economic climate.
“Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear,” said the competent agent, “that immediately after the pandemic there was also an unprecedented jump in prices for all goods, which understandably makes the world even more cautious in its movements. And, of course, the last thing people will worry about is to immediately start planning their consumption habits beyond the essentials.”
