Projects in excess of 55 million euros, including the conversion of the Ayia Napa monastery into an archeological museum and the renovation of the seafront, have begun to be implemented in the Municipality.
As Mayor Giannis Karousos told KYPE, "Ayia Napa is today the flagship of Cypriot tourism, hosts more than 5 million tourist overnight stays in Cyprus, is a global brand and contributes more than 800 million to the country's economy annually. At the same time it receives global and international awards and recognitions such as the award of Ayia Napa from the tourist awards of Greece and the first place it won in the tourist awards of Cyprus for the rebranding effort implemented with the slogan "Always Ayia Napa".
He added that "our goal is to transform Ayia Napa by 2030 as the best and most cosmopolitan tourist resort in the Mediterranean. To achieve this goal we use the complete tourist experience that aims to enjoy our guests unique experiences and memories, so that when they return home they take a little Ayia Napa with them.
He added that "despite the lack of necessary funding and support from decision-making centers, we nevertheless went ahead and planned, claimed and finally won important infrastructure projects and political decisions. Today we are implementing, planning and maturing projects with total budgets exceeding 55 million euros, with several of these projects under construction such as the transformation of the monastery of Ayia Napa into an archeological museum and the renovation of the seafront.
Answering a relevant question, Mr. Karousos referred to the beginning of the works of the underwater museum "of the first of its kind in the Mediterranean, which will be created on the technical reef of Ayia Napa. This project was a goal that we started exploring in 2013, with the aim of improving our artificial reef, improving its biodiversity, but also to create a unique underwater reference point that will attract diving tourism.
He noted that the museum 's submarine "will be of this scope, with its projection being on a global basis, as created by world - renowned British artist Jason DeCaires Taylor. It is the first underwater art museum in the Mediterranean and we estimate that it will attract over 50 thousand tourists annually and in fact every year, since it is known that diving and the sea temperatures of our region, allow it ".
In another question, Mr. Karousos said that "in the coming months we will announce a number of important projects, such as the open-air amphitheater, the largest in Cyprus, with a budget of 3.6 million euros and the multi-functional theme park, which will include a park mosaics and botanical garden. At the same time, the surveyors are completing their work to announce bids for the upgrade and renovation of the center and the north side of Ayia Napa, a project with a budget of 7 million euros ".
He also stated that "all these initiatives that we undertake are some of our arguments and reasons for our reaction to the issue of mergers of Municipalities, as Ayia Napa instead of being treated as a city with an active population of 70,000 and as a Municipality with 5th highest budget in Cyprus, is treated as a small Municipality of 5,000 inhabitants. "These perceptions must finally change," he said, noting that "we are not experimenting with Municipalities of national importance such as Ayia Napa, because possible wrong decisions will negatively affect the entire economy of Cyprus."
Source: KYPE
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