According to the booking platform TheFork, 77% of Italians interviewed will visit a dining venue during the Christmas holidays. Confirmed by Format Research in another survey. Group bookings are increasing, and user consumption is stable and rooted in tradition.
TheFork, a well-known restaurant reservation site, has released data from an interview with nearly 700 Italian users about dining habits during the Christmas period. Below are the detailed data and the relevant commentary.
Summary
A dinner to exchange wishes
77.6% of respondents will attend restaurant dinners to exchange greetings. The dinners will mainly be with friends, family, and colleagues. 75% of respondents will spend a festive Christmas at a restaurant. It is interesting to note that Christmas (49.4%), followed by New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve, will be the main occasions. Regarding spending intentions, the budget allocated for dining out in 2016 remains stable compared to last year: 46.8% of respondents plan to spend between €25 and €50 per person, 21% between €50 and €90, 9.6% between €90 and €150, and only 5% expect to spend more than in 2015.
Christmas marked by continuity and tradition
The keywords are continuity and tradition, especially in terms of cuisine choice. Most respondents will choose specialized restaurants focused on regional specialties (55.2%) and fish dishes (25.6%). For nearly 7% of respondents, Christmas festivities will be an opportunity to try a fine dining restaurant. On the holiday menu, regional dishes prepared for these festivities are essential, along with second courses of fish and stuffed pasta.
Advance booking and attention to reviews, menus, and average prices
52% of respondents plan to book with two or more weeks in advance, while the trend in 2015 was last-minute reservations. When choosing a venue, respondents mainly base their decision on average restaurant price, atmosphere, service, and reviews. Less influential are the availability of promotions and entertainment.
Christmas abroad
Looking at reservation data from November across all channels of TheFork, which sees over 12 million monthly visits, bookings for groups in November are rising, possibly due to the start of celebrations. Compared to last year, France and the Netherlands see a +12% increase, Italy and Spain see a rise of 24 and 25 percentage points, respectively, while Portugal approaches a +30% increase. Switzerland shows a modest increase of +8.8%. The most booked average price aligns with users’ spending intentions and shows a similar trend across Europe, ranging from €26 to €29 in Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, and Amsterdam. In France and Switzerland, higher spendings are expected, with the average cost per cover ranging from €30 to nearly €50. Finally, Saturday is the day most people dine out, with reservations starting from Thursday.
Over 5 million Italians choose restaurants for Christmas lunch
According to a survey conducted in collaboration with Format Research on a statistically representative sample, about 5.6 million Italians, which is 11% of the population, will have Christmas lunch with friends and/or family at restaurants, trattorias, and other public venues, down by about 512,000 compared to last year’s data.
“The forecasts for the Christmas holidays in the out-of-home sector, despite a slight decline compared to last year, are generally in line with the trend throughout 2016,” declares Fipe President Lino Enrico Stoppani. Nearly 60% of restaurants will be open on Christmas Day, a slight increase compared to Christmas 2015, confirming the desire to revive the sector. The past year has been critical and unpredictable, mostly due to terrorist incidents across Europe. I hope the holiday season encourages spending and provides a boost to the industry in 2017.
Analyzing the data, 87.7% of respondents will spend Christmas lunch at home with friends and/or family, an increase from 84.5% in 2015, 9.2% will go to a restaurant or other public venue in Italy — down from 10% in 2015, whereas 1.8% will spend Christmas lunch abroad, a slight decrease from 2% in 2015.
The slight decline in those spending Christmas lunch outside the home is accompanied by a very slight increase in average expenditure: in the average, €51 per person versus €50 in Christmas 2015. Regarding price ranges for Christmas restaurant lunches, 25% of restaurants will offer meals costing less than €40, 57.5% will charge between €40 and €60, and 17.5% will charge over €60.
Looking at the perspective of respondents working in the sector, the survey shows that during Christmas lunch, 50% of restaurateurs will offer an all-inclusive menu excluding drinks, 27.8% will include drinks in the menu, while the remaining 22.2% do not plan a fixed menu.
Regarding New Year’s Eve dinner, the survey indicates that 14.7% of the population — about 7.5 million Italians — will ring in midnight at a restaurant or other public venue. 12.1% will go to a public venue in Italy, while 2.6% will have New Year’s Eve dinner abroad, a decrease mainly due to reduced propensity to go abroad in 2016. Of these 7.5 million, the majority will be young people, residents in the North, and unmarried. Most respondents (85%) will stay home for their usual dinner, mainly over 55, living in major metropolitan areas of Central and North-East Italy, and families — a slight increase from 83.4% in 2015.
The data also reveal optimism among restaurateurs: about 8 out of 10 believe they will be fully booked on New Year’s Eve. Among respondents, 43.4% believe there is a high possibility of a sell-out event, 37.7% see a medium probability, while only 18.9% are less optimistic about a full house. Pubblicato in Hospitality
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