AMMAN — Business
activity at restaurants and sweets shops has declined by 60 percent since the
end of the summer because of a shrinking liquidity in the hands of people,
according to the head of the
Jordan Union of Restaurants and Confectionery Proprietors, Omar Al-Awwad.
اضافة اعلان
Awwad told
Jordan
News that the difficult economic conditions also prompted by a swelling
inflation and a rising cost of living is exacerbating the situation.
“Being at the
doorstep of the winter season, people’s moods have changed, and they now prefer
spending time at home rather than going out to grab a bite at a restaurant,”
Awwad added.
“On the other hand,
some shops are still witnessing a remarkable turnout due to the discounts and
special offers to consumers,” he said. “In this case, it is safe to say that
the pace of business activity goes up during weekends, by no more than 25
percent than the rest of the week.”
He pointed out that
demand persists on fast food joints. “Such places are busy in the morning with
school students and employees and others, while fried chicken is most in demand
during lunchtime, and shawerma stands are busy in the evenings.”
“Still, demand is
gradually declining on those outlets,” he added.
Awwad said the
summer was “characterized by a good business activity, due to tourists and
people spending time outside their homes, weddings and festivals, as well as
the easing of all forms of restrictions at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The last summer
season was the best in terms of commercial activity, demand and performance,”
he said. “It lasted from June until mid-August, but after that, the commercial
movement started to decline.”
Despite the weak
commercial movement now, he emphasized that restaurants “still offer their
varieties with competitive and unprecedented offers as a kind of promotion to
attract customers, despite the financial pressures the sector is witnessing due
to the high operational costs and production inputs”.
On a related issue,
he said that Jordan will not be affected by India’s decision to extend the
restrictions imposed on the export of its sugar for a period of one year, until
October 2023, “given that Jordan does not import sugar from India”.
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