Un New Year in light and dark for many sectors, especially for Catering e Entertainment. The surge in infections and the times imposed by the quarantine, which have affected around 2,5 million Italians, are having the effect of multiplying cancellations. It is the alarm of Fipe Confcommercio, the Federation of public establishments, explaining that the cancellations of dinners are already 25-30%.
Compared to the curfew and the closures imposed last year, this New Year's Eve will be very different because the restaurant industry will be able to welcome customers in its premises, but the expectations of an evening of peaceful celebrations have turned into quarantine and long queues in pharmacies for many Italians , with an exponential growth of cancellations in the last few days and that won't stop today.
“That there was a decline compared to 2019 was expected – underlined Fipe -, also because we knew we had to do without a large portion of foreign tourists, but here we are faced with an unexpected picture until just a few days ago. There are venues that have seen most of their bookings canceled in 3 days, without being able to replace them".
All this in the most important month of the year (December alone is worth 10% of the turnover of restaurants), and which is now largely compromised and risks increasing disappointments for the 70 restaurants that will open their doors to those who want to celebrate the he arrival of 2022 with a dinner away from home.
Yet, up until a few days ago, the data collected by the Fipe-Confcommercio Research Office was quite encouraging, with 4 million Italians ready to celebrate the arrival of the new year in open restaurants after the prolonged period of crisis that was finally seeing a way out.
A figure certainly down compared to 2019, but a breath of fresh air compared to 2020, when the clubs were closed. Beyond the damage the mockery. Fipe highlighted that this year “to encourage the recovery, the restaurateurs had foreseen a price reduction compared to two years ago: 78 euros on average for dinner compared to 80 in 2019, while for dinner and midnight toast with background music the drop was more evident, 90 euros against 105. By virtue of these numbers, the total expected expenditure it would be around 325 million euros, compared to the 445 million spent two years ago”.
The suffering of Italian entrepreneurs is transformed into a request for aid for sectors in difficulty. “That's why we don't hesitate to ask the government to dispense with urgent measures such as, for example, the extensions of the bank moratoriums and the redundancy fund. Interventions that will have to support those sectors that are suffering the most. Like catering in tourist places, those linked to events or private parties or discos and dance clubs, literally mortified by the latest provision which closed them without any notice until January 31st ”, concluded Fipe.
