Filenews 29 October 2021 - by Dora Christodoulou
The movement of the Municipal Market in the parking lot under the District Administration proved to be a failure by the result. Although facilities were created that could function as a basic infrastructure for an organized and orderly operation of the market, the project did not perform as expected.
This is what the municipal councillor of EDEK in the Municipality of Pafos, Panagiotis Vorkas, argues, stressing that perhaps the organization of an open-air popular market in another more central part of the city, would give the required boost to commercial traffic and enhance interest.
"The area in which the Municipal Market was previously housed could be offered as an ideal square spot for organizing, even on a weekly basis, a market of the market type", he says. '' I recall the success of the outdoor market in Monastiraki, the outdoor market of Portobello in London and many more in various European and not only capitals. The element of outdoor and makeshift set-up for service only on a specific day of the week is what gives unique and special character to these open-air street markets. Improvised points of sale, colourfulness, meddling of goods for sale, aromas and images that awaken the senses and create experience for the visitor, socialization, these elements are what is required in a lively street market. The deprived, standardized and rigged cannot function as a traditional street market.
Something similar, concludes Panagiotis Vorkas, could be organized with the support of the municipal authority and in Paphos, where the local population may be limited compared to cities abroad, but there is an additional increase in traffic from the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the city throughout the year.
