For a bit of context, I just arrived in Cyprus for the first time and I am quite surprised how half of the shops in the old town felt empty compared to most cities I’ve been in the rest of Europe.
Well either they moved to s busier location or they had to close up shop due to some financial reason. Most are in limassol and other busy places.
Short answer is catastrophic lockdown measures
Covid.
They’re Bankrupt because of covid lockdown
Covid + the opening of Metropolis mall back in September of last year.
Expensive rents, covid, metropolis mall, low demand etc.
To be honest, most of them were empty even before the covid.
If you find this shocking go to the old town in Nicosia, in and around Ledras… its like a ghost town. Yes there were closed shops and businesses before covid but now its to another level.
Come to Limassol.
The visit will balance this impression.
As well as the other reasons people have mentioned, keep in mind that a lot of shops moved their branches to Metropolis Mall.
It’s a bit sad because the downtown area now looks empty and quite depressing but I hope it will allow more independent shops or perhaps some more bars to open up downtown, rather than the usual Zara/Berschka chains. Admittedly, the reduced traffic downtown was quite welcome…
Most moved into the new mall. Personally I feel this is the beginning of a new era of downtown. I would much rather see a bar or a cafe downtown instead of zara or mango. The mall literally just opened.
The mall is the death of middle class shops in larnaka
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For a bit of context, I just arrived in Cyprus for the first time and I am quite surprised how half of the shops in the old town felt empty compared to most cities I’ve been in the rest of Europe.
Well either they moved to s busier location or they had to close up shop due to some financial reason. Most are in limassol and other busy places.
Short answer is catastrophic lockdown measures
Covid.
They’re Bankrupt because of covid lockdown
Covid + the opening of Metropolis mall back in September of last year.
Expensive rents, covid, metropolis mall, low demand etc.
To be honest, most of them were empty even before the covid.
If you find this shocking go to the old town in Nicosia, in and around Ledras… its like a ghost town. Yes there were closed shops and businesses before covid but now its to another level.
Come to Limassol.
The visit will balance this impression.
As well as the other reasons people have mentioned, keep in mind that a lot of shops moved their branches to Metropolis Mall.
It’s a bit sad because the downtown area now looks empty and quite depressing but I hope it will allow more independent shops or perhaps some more bars to open up downtown, rather than the usual Zara/Berschka chains. Admittedly, the reduced traffic downtown was quite welcome…
Most moved into the new mall. Personally I feel this is the beginning of a new era of downtown. I would much rather see a bar or a cafe downtown instead of zara or mango. The mall literally just opened.
The mall is the death of middle class shops in larnaka