Abandoned European seaside resort town once loved by A-list celebs could soon reopen
AN ABANDONED resort town in Cyprus could be set to reopen after 50 years.
The resort town of Varosha in Cyprus previously welcomed celebrity tourists like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton between 1970 and 1974.
In its heyday, the resort town housed 39,000 people and attracted 700,000 tourists.
But when Turkey invaded the island in July 1974, the resort town was destroyed and its inhabitants were forced to flee.
Turkish troops then fenced off the area, preventing anyone from getting in and signs warned that it was a "forbidden zone".
Tourists were banned from entering and taking pictures inside the fenced off area but some managed to sneak in to document the decay.
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These days the crumbling buildings and rubble in the streets only hint at the town’s former glory days.
According to , much of the resort remains as its former residents and visitors left it.
Tables are set for meals and designer clothes can be seen hanging inside the now-abandoned shops.
Since 2003, travel restrictions have eased and the area has been partially reopened.
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And in the last few years, restaurants have slowly reopened along the beachfront.
While the area welcomed 500,000 tourists in 2020, plans are underfoot to bring more holidaymakers back to the resort town.
According to , a businessman has purchased a string of hotels including the Cleo Hotel, the Golden Seaside Apartment, and the Aegean Hotel.
The businessman also purchased two floors of an apartment building to house his employees.
In an , the businessman also expressed his interest to revive Varosha to its former glory and is allegedly in talks with foreign tour operators.
It's hoped that more holidaymakers will be welcomed into the hotels by 2025.
But Varosha isn't the only abandoned tourist attraction with plans to reopen.
An abandoned seaside theme park in the UK is being turned into a holiday resort.
Pleasure Island, located in Cleethorpes, northeast Lincolnshire, first opened in 1993 but visitor numbers dwindled over the years, and the theme park was forced to close in 2016.
But there are now plans to turn the old site into a new holiday park with 272 holiday lodges.
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And in the US, Jazzland, Six Flags New Orleans was abandoned for more than 15 years after it was damaged due to Hurricane Katrina.
It is now a creepy shadow of its former self - but is popular with blockbuster film producers.
