China works to revitalize catering industry with safety, supportive measures
By Zhu Peixian, Wang Pei, People’s Daily
Chinese restaurants are now welcoming
customers back as COVID-19 subsides.
By upgrading business models and improving
service quality, they have strengthened epidemic prevention and control
measures, advocated serving chopsticks and individual serving, launched
promotions and enhanced online services.
A hotpot restaurant in Zhengzhou, Central
China’s Henan Province has changed the layout of the dining room, increased the
distance between tables, and launched contactless food ordering, to make
customers feel safe eating there.
“I’ve been craving for the food here for
months. It’s really delicious,” said a citizen surnamed Li when dining at the
restaurant with his family on May 24. The tables were all occupied on that
Sunday noon.
“Customers pay the most attention to
prevention measures we take. In this regard, we’ve been constantly optimizing
our services,” said Liu Yongtao, an executive of the restaurant. To create
a safe dining environment, the restaurant now offers serving
chopsticks and the dishes are covered when served.
Between January and April, the sales revenue
of China’s catering industry decreased by 41.2 percent from a year ago to 833.3
billion yuan ($117 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics said on May 15. However,
the catering industry is gradually picking up.
In May, the non-manufacturing business
activity index moved up 0.4 percentage points over the previous month to 53.6
percent, and the business activity index of the catering industry exceeded 55
percent.
As of May 31, more than 90 percent of the
restaurants in Zhengzhou had reopened, with an occupancy rate of nearly 80
percent.
Local authorities across China have also
unveiled measures to revitalize the catering industry to reduce and exempt
taxes and fees, boost consumption and reinforce consumer confidence.
The sales of a music-themed restaurant in Shibei
district of Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province finally bounced back
recently. During the epidemic, the restaurant suffered a loss of nearly
200,000 yuan each month and struggled to maintain its cash flow, according
to Yuan Ning, manager of the restaurant.
When it was stuck in difficulty, a working
group was established by local authority to help entities resume work and
production. After visiting restaurants door-to-door, the team tailored
different strategies.
“The local authority has not only given
advice on our operation, but also helped us expand market,” said Yuan,
referring to the food delivery service his restaurant now offers to nearby
companies. Nearly 1,000 meals are sold each month, he added.
“We investigated and helped every restaurant that
reopened. In doing so, we hope to get more restaurants out of difficulty,” said
Shao Junfeng with the market supervision bureau of Shibei district.
The provincial commerce department of Henan Province
released a package of financial products in collaboration with catering
industry associations and financial institutions in the province. Besides, by
working with malls, wholesale agricultural markets and e-commerce platforms, it
also offers fair-price foodstuffs, reduces or exempts rentals, and cuts
commission fees for catering enterprises.
To help catering companies tide over the difficulties
and help them lower operational cost, the catering industry and restaurant
association of Zhengzhou called on relevant parties to reduce commission
and fees for restaurants.
In Qingdao, companies that reduce or exempt rents
during the epidemic will be listed as “good landlords” who can enjoy preferential
policies in financial assistance and branding at the end of the year,
introduced Lin Jun with the work office of private sector affairs in Shibei
district.
According to him, the general office of
Qingdao municipal government has issued a number of assistance policies, helping
over 110 restaurants save 3.2 million yuan in rent cost.
To revitalize consumption in the catering
sector, Qingdao has launched a large-scale campaign that encourages restaurants
to carry out promotional activities. Relevant departments in Zhengzhou also
issued 400 million yuan worth of coupons to stimulate consumption, especially
in the catering sector.
People dine separately at a restaurant in
Zunhua, a county-level city Hebei Province on March 27. Photo by Liu Mancang/People’s
Daily Online
China works to revitalize catering industry with safety, supportive measures
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