Insolven wave threatens Saarland: 200 restaurants before the end!

Insolven wave threatens Saarland: 200 restaurants before the end!

Gastronomy in Saarland is experiencing a dramatic crisis: eyewitnesses report a worrying decline in visitor numbers in Restaurants and inns, which results in numerous closures. The Saarland hotel and restaurant association Dehoga warns that up to 200 companies could close this year due to increasing costs and falling demand. Frank Hohrath, General Manager of Dehoga, is responsible for the high VAT, which rose from seven to 19 percent at the beginning of the year. "Going out - many simply can no longer afford that," Hohrath criticizes the price increases that many guests deter.

displacement and competitive pressure

Another example of this troubling situation is the Italian restaurant of Roberto Ferraro in Gräfinthal, which has to close after ten years at the end of the year. "It hurts to see how empty it is," says Ferraro. In recent years, the industry has suffered from sales of sales, which results in further closures. According to Dehoga President Michael Buchna, 800 companies have given up since the beginning of Corona pandemic, and if the conditions are not changing, the effects could become even more dramatic. "The recovered higher VAT will have a further 200 companies," says Buchna, who warns of unfair competition within the industry.

The increased operating costs through food and energy costs additionally burden the restaurateurs. While food prices have increased by almost 30 percent and energy prices by over 50 percent, many companies cannot fully pass on the costs to the guests. Hohrath adds that the situation has now become unbearable for many restaurants, which has re -losing the discussion about reducing VAT rate to seven percent. These measures are necessary to give the gastronomy in Saarland a fair chance, to stabilize and continue to exist, report the .

The challenge is therefore clear: While restaurateurs are struggling for their existence, politics urgently needs solutions to take pressure from the industry and to rethink the VAT adjustment, such as sr.de reported. The future of gastronomy in Saarland is on the brink and quick measures are necessary to maintain operation.