Filenews 22 October 2021 - by Pambos Vasilas
Statues that speak, three-dimensional virtual restoration of the archaeological site of the port of ancient Kition, virtual navigation in shipwrecks at the bottom of Larnaca, interactive tours of museums and information on exhibits and other pioneering interactive actions included in four pillars - sectors, now place the tourist image of Larnaca one step ahead, as far as the promotion of its tourist wealth is concerned, not only in the city, but also in the province. Larnaca becomes the first Cypriot city where the visitor will be able to see most of its sights and points of reference, with the use of virtual, three-dimensional navigation and technology, through the online program Virtual Larnaca, officially presented yesterday.
These pioneering actions, which are inspired and main pillared by the Larnaca Tourism Development Company, are also supported by Larnaca Municipality, the Deputy Ministry of Tourism and the Youth Organization. They were presented to the public yesterday, during an event, titled, "Virtual Larnaca". As mentioned, the action aims to promote four innovative projects that are interconnected and complement each other, creating a technological puzzle of the interactive Larnaca. The common goal of the projects is to provide an experiential dimension to the tourist experience of the foreign and local visitor of Larnaca. Combining the possibilities offered by technology with the historical research and the rich history of Larnaca, important points of reference of the Tourist Product of Larnaca were given life, escaping from the trivial way of providing information. The four innovative projects included in the action will gradually be exploited, for the benefit of the tourist product of Larnaca, while in the case of the statues that speak, they are already being exploited.
The President of the Larnaca Etap, Dinos Lefkaritis, in his address stressed that in order for a tourist destination to survive, it must adapt to the trends of modern times and this was precisely the aim of this joint initiative.
The President of the Youth Organization, Kleanthis Koutsoftas, underlined the need to utilize the modern technological methods and professional knowledge of young scientists, so as to fundamentally revise the way of presenting our history, in order to attract the interest of young people.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdios, said that "the Deputy Ministry, in the context of the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy 2030, supports such innovative efforts for the digitization of technological means that enhance the visitor's experience. It is with great satisfaction that we see the commendable effort of the Larnaca ETAP in this direction".
During the event, the Mayor of Larnaca, Andreas Vyras, mentioned that such actions, where modern technologies and skills are utilized, contribute to the creation of an open and accessible city where citizens and visitors live, are entertained, created and educated.
Increase of statues talking
The first action, "Larnaca Story telling Statues", concerns the placement of QR-coded signs on statues, which the visitor, scanning the code with his mobile phone and having connected to the internet, receives a "phone call" from the statue, which tells him its fascinating story. The number of spoken statues in the city of Larnaca has now increased, with the addition of the statue of Leon Sofos in the church of St. Lazarus, the Armenian Monument, the bust of Teekros Anthias, the statue of Peace in the Municipal Garden, as well as Makarios and The Wise Siampon, while at the same time it was extended to the province with the statue of Kallipateira in Pervolia. In addition, talking statues exhibited in museums were included, such as the Stavrospimos Figurine in the Pierides Museum and Hippocrates in the Kyriazis Medical Museum.
Three-dimensional restoration - interactive tour
For the first time in Cyprus ancient ruins are virtually restored in three-dimensional form. Taking advantage of virtual reality technology, the user can discover what the ancient port of Kition looked like 2,500 years ago. A team worked on the project under the guidance of the French archaeologist who is in charge of this archaeological mission.
An important element of the tourist product of Larnaca is its diving wealth and therefore the ongoing project of the underwater diving routes was presented, which includes the shipwrecks "Zenobia", "Elpida", "LEF1" as well as the reefs in the "Watchtower" area in Xylofagou and Dorida. These underwater diving routes will include all the data for each diving point and presentation of the diving routes in virtual form of 360°.
The fourth pillar includes the interactive tour of Larnaca museums in 360° format with information on selected exhibits. Phase A includes the following museums: Municipal Historical Archive - Larnaca Museum, Pierides Museum - Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Kallinikeio Municipal Museum of Athienou, Museum of Memory of Kalamourgiki of Livadia, Kyriazi Medical Museum and the Environmental Information Centre of Mountainous Larnaca. This innovative tool is based on modern technology and offers the opportunity of virtual browsing and access to structured information that enhances the end user experience, such as three-dimensional representations of spaces and exhibits, videos and audio documents.
