'In the food and beverage industry, business is on the downswing as travel restrictions tighten due to the virus outbreak. One Taipei restaurant says it\'\'s lost half its customers since the suspension of flights from Hong Kong and Macao. The Chung-Hwa Institution for Economic Research says that virus fears have dampened demand in much of the overall service sector. One exception has been food delivery platforms, which report a surge in orders as more people avoid eating out. It’s lunchtime and this Japanese restaurant in Taipei’s East District is completely empty. For the restaurant’s owner, it’s a sad sight to behold.Lo Chian-chungJapanese restaurateurHalf of my customer base is foreign and the other half is Taiwanese. Most of the foreigners are from Hong Kong and Macao. So the cancellation of flights from Macao has had a big impact.Without tourists, wide swaths of the food and beverage industry are suffering. Locals have also cut down on window shopping and eating out.One research institute forecasts that the brunt of the virus impact will fall on the service sector.Chen Shi-kuanCIER presidentIn the manufacturing sector, demand will rebound and make up for past losses once the epidemic passes. But in non-manufacturing industries and especially in the travel industry, time is gone once it’s gone. So they will recover quite a bit more slowly.With locals avoiding shared spaces, there’s been a surge in customers getting meals to-go or through food delivery platforms.Lin Ting-weiHotpot restaurant PRLocals are trying to limit going out to public spaces where they come in close contact with crowds. So they’re opting to take out or get delivery. In those services, we have seen growth of 30% to 40%.Food courierI’ve gone to the business owners and asked them about it, because it seemed to me there are more orders now. They said that fewer people are eating in now, but that the number of deliveries is growing. Previously I would get three orders during mealtimes, but recently I’ve been getting five or six orders in one hour.Food couriers are making hay, though skies are clouding over the food and beverage industry at large.'
Tags: English news , 民視 , 民視新聞 , 英語新聞 , Formosa News
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