The close-knit community of Larnaca businesspeople have taken the wise step to establish a Tourism Development and Promotion Company for their town, creating an entity that would be able to effectively deal with all issues related to improving tourism, generating income and attracting tourists and businesses alike. But is that enough?
The new venture was initiated with the blessing of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, not one of the finest examples of efficiency as far as state services go, but a functional one, nonetheless.
In the absence of a national tourism promotion board, controlled and operated on the basis of a private corporation, smaller units such as this one in Larnaca or the more successful joint venture in Paphos, are the next best alternative.
But Larnaca has some things going in its favour, starting with the brand new airport that will be delivered on time by the end of 2009 and the recent dismantling of the oil refinery, that may have been justified on environmental grounds but was proven wrong on an economic aspect. At least the town looks cleaner (once they get rid of the rusty old tanks as well).
The city of the philosopher Zenon of Kition has nothing else to pride itself of, apart from the Phinikoudes mile-strip or the wise merger of the two historic sports clubs that were lingering in the local league to become a worthy championship contender.
The port should have been shut down long ago and the marina has been transformed into a glorified fishing shelter.
Now, the people behind Larnaca Inc. should seriously plan having the next generations in mind, their grandchildren, even.
The war in
With the new airport aspiring to become a regional hub, should Larnacans not look at changing their marina/port into, say, a cruise terminal, as had been suggested over a decade ago? With the right moves, it could also become a feeder port/airport to nearby
Parallel to all this, work should get underway to redesign the whole town and avoid knee-jerk reactions to international development. The hotels should be upgraded but at the same time affordable and efficient public services should be there to support them. Education is an issue that has been undermined, while the mega-flop of the free trade and industrial zones should get a major overhaul.
With a progressive mayor running the town and a successful businessman at the helm of the Chamber of Commerce, they can’t go wrong… can they?
