A YEAR-END rise in outbound travel has not weakened demand for festive dining and takeaways, with hotels and food and beverage (F&B) operators anticipating a further pick-up near Christmas.

As of mid-December, several hospitality and F&B players are nearly or already at full capacity for Christmas and New Year dining.

Demand has been mostly driven by locals, as tourist numbers are not yet back to pre-Covid levels, they added.