May ended and far from marking a rebound for the gastronomic and hotel sector of San Juan, it sank it a little more. In addition to the increases in electricity and gas rates, low temperatures ended up being a fundamental factor that worked against, mainly, those establishments that have outdoor areas and that had a marked decrease in consumption.
From the Chamber of Hoteliers and Gastronomicists of San Juan, both authorities, Tamara Boggian (president) and Mariano Carmona (vice), detailed the harsh reality. In dialogue with HUARPE DIARYBoggian explained that the situation is critical and that with the levels of sales and reserves managed by the sector, they are “the same as those that existed in the pandemic.”
“We have many costs and we have not been able to transfer them to the rates, and that affects us. We, hoteliers and restaurants, are working at a loss,” said the owner. She explained that the cost transfer is not done as it should because doing so would harm the sector even more, understanding that people will not attend.
Regarding the possibility of an economic rebound for the second half of the year, the president was not optimistic about it. “We hope it picks up, but we don’t see any signs. We are really in a critical situation.”
On the same note was the vice president of the institution, Mariano Carmona, who asserted that “the recession is getting deeper and deeper and it is impossible to recover the sales levels that existed. We are aware of layoffs, but for now they would not be considerable numbers,” while he said that “these are isolated cases.”
Despite this crisis situation, Carmona explained that they have not recorded a large closure of stores, but those that are are trying to adapt and avoid going bankrupt. In this sense, he added that they had periods or events in the last time that helped them “take oxygen” and mentioned the Mining Fair as an example. However, he reiterated that “the outlook remains negative and worrying.”
Expectations for the second semester
The second half of the year is about to arrive, but the sector foresees a complex panorama. Like what Boggian mentioned, the expectation is not good. And Carmona stated that “I believe that the desire of every businessman in the sector is to be able to reach the next semester, because really, it is a critical situation that is being repeated in many cities in the country. The first challenge is to be able to survive when the economy is reactivated. We hope that this reactivation occurs as soon as possible.”
Numbers
In this context of economic crisis, going out to eat today represents a luxury for some San Juan residents. Those who used to go to restaurants every weekend choose to do so once a month or use other methods such as sharing a plate. In this regard, Boggian reported what the average cost of a ticket is in the sector.
In the case of breakfasts or snacks, the consumption values per person range from $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the establishment.
On the other hand, for lunches and meals, the consumption values per person range from $5,000 to $10,000 for fast food, while the ticket for the restaurants category starts at $15,000.
