ROME - Summer trade has “not been enough” to save the restaurant industry from the destruction of the pandemic and its restrictions, new data from Bankitalia has shown.

 “The numbers have confirmed that the restaurant industry has been among those hit hardest by the pandemic and the restrictive measures” laments the Italian Federation for Retail and Catering Businesses (FIPE). “From April 2021, 80 percent of Italian families say they have reduced their consumption in bars and restaurants compared to before the pandemic.

 “Now the summer has marked a first decisive leap forward with the sector's revenues up 1.2 billion euros in August alone. If the health picture evolves positively, with the progress of the vaccination campaign not only nationally but internationally, the goal of bringing catering back to the turnover levels of the summer of 2019 will be within reach, but only by 2023”.

 Recovery of international tourism has also been slow, hence revenue this year has fallen short of the 6 billion euros normally guaranteed every August by visitors from the United States, Asia and other European countries.

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