Going out to eat, a custom that in August will reach 100% inflation compared to a year ago

Shopping for clothes to eat out has been the combination that has gotten more expensive over the past year. Just as the price hikes of clothing and footwear have already exceeded the general level of inflation, which today is 71% per annum, the item restaurants and hotels follow a similar path: in the last year it has become 96% more expensive and when August inflation comes out, it will definitely be above 100%.

Some consultants already foresee an increase in the consumer price index (CPI) close to this percentage for this year: FIEL, for example, has an estimate of 112.4%. LCG expects a 95% floor and even Quantum Finanzas, by Daniel Marx (a member of Sergio Massa’s cast), is at 94.9%.

The jump in hotel and restaurant prices has already come with strong increases from last year, but marked a bigger jump than inflation in July, due to seasonal hikes as a product of winter holidays. According to INDEC, the 7.4% increase in the consumer price index (CPI) last month was largely driven by this rumor.

The opportunity to charge more luscious prices came from the hand of the growing tourism both domestic tourists (who are going out more after the pandemic) and foreigners who take advantage of the advantage of the exchange. For this reason, the winter holidays have reached record values.

According to a report by the Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME), 15.9 million people traveled across the country this winter. 20.7% more than last year and spent $ 147.313 million in the cities that are part of the national tourist circuit; the economic impact was 95.2% higher than in 2021 at constant prices.

If we look at the trend of tourism in the first half of the year, the arrivals of non-resident tourists were 689.4 thousand and there was an increase of 922.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.

From the gastronomic and hotel sectors, they explain that the prices have been satisfied by the great depression that the establishments experienced during the pandemic. So they claim it was there thousands of shops that have had to permanently lower their shutters and have lost 180,000 jobs, point by the Hotel and Gastronomic Federation (FEHGRA).

This the situation was changing when the quarantine was left: an analysis of credit, debit and prepaid card transactions carried out by Prisma Medios de Pago, found that gastronomic transactions during the friend’s day (July 20) grew by 34% compared to last year while the volume is increased by 148%.

“Both deli and hotels kept prices during the pandemic because they were out of demand and tried to preserve jobs,” says Focus Market analyst Damian Di Pace. “That’s why now both sectors try to recover part of what was lost “.

On the other hand, the food itself, without considering the added value they acquire in catering, has had very significant increases from year to yearexplains the economist. And “another factor that explains the phenomenon is the rental prices that have continued to rise. As a result, many merchants have decided to preserve their premises,” Di Pace said.

Currently, those who opt for a gastronomic trip cannot think of spending less $ 2,550 or $ 3,000 per person. Depending on the location, the shopping can double: for example, in Puerto Madero, eating an empanada, a portion of vacio with salad and dessert. Without wine, you can spend around $ 5,000.

According to FEHGRA. gastronomy accounts for 70% of the sector’s inflation rate and hotels for the remaining 30%. For food outlets, 30% of the costs are salaries and another 30% are services and taxes. “With the remaining 60%, there are more possibilities to ‘manage the profit’ even if the margin is small because we provide services to the final consumer,” said an entrepreneur linked to the sector.