MHRA survey: Restaurants hopeful as revenues recover

A majority of restaurants who participated in the MHRA BOV Restaurant survey expect a positive year for business, despite higher operational costs compared to pre-pandemic years.

The survey, conducted across 70 restaurants in Malta and Gozo, was carried out by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association with the help of Deloitte.

When compared to 2019, a year before the COVID-19 outbreak, 54% of restaurants reported lower takings in 2022 while a third of respondents reported improved revenue levels.

But when compared to 2022, 73% of restaurants reported improved reveue and only 15% reported lower takings.

However, when comparing to 2019 payroll costs, 52% of restaurants reported a decrease in wages while 77% reported higher operational costs.

In the shorter term, compared to 2021, payroll and operational costs are on an upward trend as half of restaurants reported payroll costs increases.

Despite all this, 67% of respondents expect a positive year while 8% stated that they expect a poor outcome. Gozitan establishments are the least optimistic, as are those in the Southern Region of Malta, with only 17 of Gozo-based respondents anticipating a positive year ahead.

From the restaurants that took part, the majority at 57% operate a casual diner or trattoria type of establishment. Fine dining restaurants made up 19% of participating establishments, while 13% were cafes or cafeterias.