Half of the businesses in Saxony's hospitality industry are pessimistic or negative about 2024, according to a survey by the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) in Saxony. Rising costs for energy, food and staff are the biggest challenge for businesses, Axel Klein, Managing Director of Saxony's Dehoga, told the German Press Agency. In addition, there is increasing bureaucracy and the expired reduced VAT for food.
In the course of the coronavirus crisis, VAT for food in the catering industry was reduced to seven percent for a good two years. Since January 1, it has been raised again to the original level of 19 percent.
According to the survey, almost eight out of ten establishments had increased prices due to the rise in costs, said Klein. "In addition, more than half of the companies have reduced the range of products and services on offer and foregone planned investments." A good 40 percent stated that they had introduced additional days off or shorter opening hours. It is still too early to assess whether guests are staying away because of the increased prices.
