The coronavirus crisis has had a huge impact on all aspects of society, including the gastronomy sector. As a result, one gastronomy magazine has conducted a study to analyse the opinion of the sector's professionals regarding the impact the crisis has had, how they have adapted to the new normal and what the future perspectives look like. A total of 2708 professionals from countries all over the world participated in the study in question.

 

Impact

 

The healthcare crisis created an exceptional situation. Most countries applied measures that restricted freedom of movement and some even ordered the temporary closure of businesses. Without doubt, this quarantine was one of the most difficult times of the coronavirus crisis for restaurants, bars and cafés. 

Even so, 44% of the professionals interviewed agreed with the healthcare measures taken and in some countries like the United Kingdom, this percentage stood at 65%. It is also the case that some businesses took advantage to innovate and look for new formulas like take away and also took advantage of the closure of their establishments to carry out remodelling.

 

New normal and future perspectives

 

Today, we can say that the gastronomy sector, and indeed society as a whole, has entered a phase of new normal: we have learnt to coexist with the current situation. According to the Juntos con la Hostelería platform, in Spain up to 80% of bars and restaurants have been able to reopen their doors with the application of new safety measures, a particularly relevant fact, as the summer months are some of the most important for the Spanish hospitality sector.

We can't deny that the pandemic has heavily affected the gastronomy sector, from small cafes to haute cuisine restaurants. The last few months have been hard but, despite all this, the experts assure us that professionalism and hard work are the key to the future recovery of the sector.