Paphos wants to host hotel training school

MAYOR Phedonas Phedonos announced on Friday that the municipality has officially expressed interest for the Higher Hotel Institute (HHIC) to be relocated to his town.

The mayor said he is convinced that his municipality’s bid meets the necessary requirements and specifications set, as already evidenced by the town hosting the European capital of culture next year.

“The town of Paphos is eminently a tourist town,” Phedonos said. He added that it is the town with the most hotel beds, and with the largest number of tourists as 38per cent of visitors coming to Cyprus end up in Paphos.

He added that Paphos has the most five-star hotels, and has an active winter tourist season.

Paphos proposes that the HHIC be housed in a building that will be erected on land owned by the municipality and had been destined for the new town hall.

As regards facilities for the accommodation of students, Phedonos said that they can be built in an adjoining plot for which the municipality has already made arrangements.

“Paphos municipality is ready for when and if the cabinet chooses our town,” Phedonos said.

He added that Nicosia already hosts the University of Cyprus, Limassol has another state institution, the University of Technology, and that Paphos, as the eminent tourist town, should be entitled to host the HHIC.

Phedonos expressed his readiness to cooperate with government agencies and ministries so that the HHIC’s building complex is delivered promptly to the competent authorities and that students could start moving to Paphos.

Following the revival and cleaning up of the town due to infrastructure work already underway, he said, the HHIC would finally put Paphos “in an orbit of progress and growth”.

The HHIC was located in Nicosia, running parallel to the state-owned Philoxenia training hotel, but the hotel industry has been a supporter of the idea that it be moved to a coastal location where tourism is booming.

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