Restaurants poised to lower prices, widen options as industry adjusts to smaller dining wallets in 2024

TWENTY to 30 per cent down and fighting every minute – sounds like a version of the musical Rent’s theme song, but it’s not Seasons of Love that food and beverage businesses are singing. Rather, it’s a refrain that pretty much sums up 2023 for the industry, as it emerges from a volatile year that has seen diners disappear to greener dining pastures abroad while wallets at home shrink in tandem.

Despite fillips such as Formula 1 and other big events, the worrying dip that high-end restaurants started to experience from around April this year – after a dizzying post-Covid rebound – has continued. Chefs and restaurateurs are not even cautiously optimistic like before, but in full battle/survival mode as they head into the new year.

Ending the year on a whimper

Restaurants in Singapore tell the same story when it comes to the factors that have affected their bottom lines in 2023. The biggest has been travel, both in and out. There are more people travelling out of Singapore, and fewer tourists than expected coming in.