Filenews 1 May 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
While everything points to an impressive tourist summer for Paphos and the whole of Cyprus, the clouds over the trademark of tourism for the island, the port of Kato Paphos, do not seem to dissipate.
After the strong reactions of professionals and other tourism operators to the ongoing redevelopment projects, new voices of protest are growing. This is because of the image that the area gives in the evening hours.
Businessmen of the port basin and the pier complain that for months the emblematic Medieval Castle remains in darkness, with only two floodlights illuminated, trying to highlight the great monument without success. They also claim that the pedestrian street from the entrance of the port to the Castle Square is now dark due to the construction site in the area.
Monuments of similar value and importance in other countries are promoted with state-of-the-art means and styles, they stress, while in Kato Pafos, with an entire archaeological park protected by UNESCO, "we are not yet in a position to operate even a simple searchlight to illuminate the harbour".
Professionals in the area also complain that the situation is even worse at night on the access road behind the port buildings that leads to the pedestrian street of the Lighthouse and to the square of the Castle.
"On this street there is not even a lamp", they stress, complaining that visitors in order to be able to move safely in this area at night, must have a telephone with a flashlight. And it is not only the issue of movement, but also issues of safety and sense of security of pedestrians, they argue, since it is normal for some tourists, especially women, to feel uncomfortable moving in total darkness.
This is generally a situation that does no honour to anyone, say professionals in the area, all the more so since Paphos now operates as the EU Capital of Smart Tourism for 2023.
