Restaurants see income fall by 40%
Almost 50% of Portugal’s restaurants saw their income fall by over 40% in January while a third of accommodation businesses lost more than 60% as a result of the continued fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic according to a survey from the sector association AHRESP.
AHRESP states in its report “2022 started worse than 2021 for restaurants and tourist accommodation units. After two years of pandemic and several restrictions on these sectors, over-indebted businesses now see their situation worsen with price increases in energy, fuel and raw materials”.
It goes on to state that faced with a perfect storm, AHRESP demands that the Government moves forward with an “action plan to ensure the viability of companies in the sector”.
AHRESP also states that the latest fall in revenue figures was as a direct result of the 5th wave of the pandemic.
The survey, reports the Portugal Resident, showed that 78% of catering and similar businesses and 37% of accommodation businesses reported staff who tested positive with Covid-19, and 51% and 19% respectively had to close for at least seven days for that reason.
The association notes that one of the concerns felt in recent times is that they have found it “hard to recruit staff for these sectors”, with 90% of restaurants that need employees describing “serious difficulties” in doing so, especially kitchen and waiting staff”.
Source: AHRESP/Portugal Resident
