Alfonso Robledo, president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, has expressed his concern at a drop in business in March. Despite the arrival of tourists and the good weather, some restaurants have reported a fall in activity of between twenty and forty per cent.
The comparison is with March last year, which was a "very good month" and one that restaurants hadn't expected. "We were coming out of the pandemic and people wanted to go out and spend what they had saved because of the restrictions. There was an explosion like opening a bottle of cava. This year, we have prepared ourselves for similar figures, but there are fewer customers."
Although business is comparable with what it was in pre-pandemic 2019, Robledo suggests that the drop in trade this year may have to do with tourists having less spending power because of the effects of inflation. He wonders if visitors are booking all-inclusive rather than going out for meals.