Filenews 12 July 2022 - by Dora Christodoulou
Little by little, the commercial and historical centre of Paphos is gaining life again. More intense than on previous occasions, but not as satisfying as the entrepreneurs of the region would like. This is because the reconstructed historical and commercial centre of the city has been transformed over the last three years into a focus of Pafos' nightlife, but in the field of commercial traffic and support for retail stores, the situation is much less satisfactory.
The admission of both municipal councillors and traders in the area is that despite the continuous efforts and the campaign to attract visitors on a permanent basis, the situation is still far from being as satisfactory as it was thought to be when the redevelopment works began. The effort has come to fruition, only in terms of nightlife, they point out. From the point of view of the movement to the shops, however, we are in the same pre-redevelopment denominator, they emphasize.
Frustration is pervasive among the vast majority of shopkeepers and others involved in retail at Paphos shopping centre, as things in the city continue to move sluggishly, despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions and the ever-increasing reintroduction of activities such as tourism. However, representatives of the traders say, the movement in the market is still at very low levels, except in the case of some large department stores.
"This is yet another proof of correctness as they believed that the shock from the pandemic and its economic impact will for a long time make citizens wary of how they manage their money," they estimate. "Now, we can confidently say that things in Paphos are worse than what the economic operators and entrepreneurs of the province believed until recently about the operation of the market in the conditions of the pandemic, even with an improved situation."
These bodies pointed out to "F" that it is now clear that the situation will not improve immediately due to the situation which society has found itself and the differences in the priorities it brought about, even if, in practice, the operation of the retail trade, now looks smooth.
"It is unfortunately increasingly clear," a competent agent said, "that immediately after the pandemic, came the unprecedented surge in prices for all goods, which obviously makes people even more cautious in their movements. And of course, the last thing that will concern people will be the immediate start of their plans for consumer habits, in addition to basic necessities."
In contrast to the subdued traffic in the retail trade of the day, in the evenings in the historic and commercial centre of Paphos the situation is already reminiscent of the best tourist seasons in Cyprus.
