HOTEL owners in Paphos are up in arms over a major works project which they say is ruining their summer business.
Work on phase two of the seafront project began on May 19, Paphos Municipality’s consultant civil engineer, Diofantos Hadjimitsis, confirmed yesterday.
”The timeframe for this part of the project is around six months. It is a problem, as it follows the coastline and will affect the hotels in the area. Apart from creating a new look for the coastline in front of these hotels, this phase includes an extra construction of three vertical walkways alongside the Almyra, Annabel and Alexander the Great Hotels. This will cause some disruption,” Hadjimitsis admitted to the Cyprus Mail.
Poseidonos Avenue and the harbour area in Kato Paphos have both seen upgrading work over the last few months. A wide pedestrianised walkway has been created next to the seafront and shops have been encouraged to use a more uniformed frontage. Phase two of the project will upgrade the seafront further along Poseidonos Avenue, in front of a number of Paphos’ most popular and established hotels. According to the Mayor Savvas Vergas, the work is necessary and will be completed by April 2008. Vergas believes undertaking the project consecutively will cause the least disruption to the area.
”The work will only cause disruption for two winters and one summer and then be complete,” he said yesterday.
Natasha Michaelides, communications Manager of the Thanos group of hotels, who own the Almyra and Annabelle Hotels both affected by the work, agreed the work was necessary. “It is very good that this work is finally taking place, and I know that we must all be patient and wait for the project to be completed. However, my problem is that I don’t understand why the Mayor wanted to start work in June, which will not be finished until next year.
”It is unheard of to start a project in the middle of the summer. And why? Just to prove he can deliver a project on time. Why was it suggested in the first place? I think the whole thing is disorganised. The whole of the tourism of Paphos will be destroyed. All we need now is for one or two tour operators to stop sales on Paphos, and that we be it. We will have to close up the hotels and send the staff home. We have already had meetings with the unions to warn them of this scenario,” she pointed out.
Michaelides added, ”tour operators are already fed up with Paphos because of the upgrading work that has just been finished on the seafront. They won’t send people here because they will have to start paying out compensation to unhappy customers. It has been quite hard to get people to visit Paphos anyway in the last few years. Other towns in Cyprus are doing better than us. This is because of our fish and chip image. We are portrayed as a cheap destination, with fish and chips on every corner. But what we offer is expensive. They will go to other countries for their fish and chips. People want culture, cleanliness, friendliness, good quality affordable local food, pavements and beaches. Once the word is out, no one will come.”
She continued, ”I am pleased new pavements are being created and cars will no longer be permitted along the seafront, but this money could have been better spent elsewhere. We need beaches and we need to clean up our open spaces,” she stressed.
Hadjimitsis confirmed that heavy construction work was currently underway alongside the recently renovated Alexander the Great Hotel.
”In my opinion the work to upgrade the walkway connecting the main road to the beach is the most heavy and noisy. This, unfortunately, is next to the Alexander the Great Hotel and includes putting in a new drainage system and new concrete. In my opinion, noise levels here will be high for the next four or five weeks.”
The General Manager of the Alexander the Great expressed his dissatisfaction: ”I am not happy. This period is high season and this is the wrong time to undertake the work. We cannot close the hotel, we are full,’ Fanos Mikellides told the Cyprus Mail.
”We have just renovated the hotel at great cost, and we are now having to cope with unhappy customers. It is noisy and dirty and as far as I know will continue for a further six months,” he said.
Michaelides believes the three walkways beside the hotels will contain special water features, and this is causing her concern.
”We will see real problems with these areas in a couple of years, who will maintain them?” she wondered. “Paphos already has a problem with cleanliness.”
A recent holidaymaker staying at one of the seafront hotels told the Cyprus Mail, ”the staff were lovely and the hotel facilities were great. The building site next door marred the whole experience though. It was terrible. We had to go out to get some peace. I would advise people to stay away this year, it’s too noisy.”
According to Natasha Michaelides, comments from the Mayor on the subject have not been forthcoming.
”It will take guests of the hotels to complain to Vergas to get him to take notice of us. So far, we haven’t had a reaction. The only comment he made was that the contractor would penalise the Municipality if the work had to stop for the summer, and start again later on. I think carrying on construction work over the summer is causing far more damage than having to pay put more money. It could be the end of the tourist industry for Paphos.”
