Rostock (dpa / mv) - In the gastronomy in Mecklenburg-Vorfallen, there is still a mood of crisis in Advent. "Currently, every second entrepreneur sees the existence of their own business as being massively threatened and endangered, a high value that is an alarm signal," said Lars Schwarz, President of the Dehoga Hotel and Restaurant Association, on Tuesday in Rostock. It bases this on a survey of the member companies from November.
The economic environment continues to be clouded even after the end of the corona measures: According to a survey, the turnover of the companies in November was still 14 percent lower than in the same month before the pandemic. And a look at the traditionally important pre-Christmas business gives Schwarz little hope: "49.2 percent of companies currently have poor to very poor private demand, and 64 percent of companies also have poor to very poor business demand." For the majority of companies, the demand for 2019 remains a long way off.
In addition to weak demand, there are increased costs in the energy crisis. The situation is very different depending on the company: the jump in costs is between 20 and 300 percent. Only around a tenth of restaurateurs have so far been spared due to longer-term contracts. According to Schwarz, companies are therefore trying to save wherever they can.
"The current situation and the described situation in the hospitality industry make it clear that the industry is at a tipping point," said the Dehoga President. He rejected additional burdens on tourism, such as a bed tax.
