Overview
- Restaurant owner Alexander Süß reports reservations at his Sylt venue fell from 18,600 last summer to 14,000 so far this year.
- Visitors increasingly arrive with discount supermarket groceries and prioritize holiday flats with kitchens instead of dining out.
- DEHOGA says Germany’s gastronomy revenue fell 3.8% in real terms in 2024, with officials warning of record business deregistrations.
- Lars Schwarz of DEHOGA Mecklenburg-Vorpommern reports 30% of operators are already in the red and another 20% expect to slip into losses.
- Operators cite sharply higher input costs, including crab prices more than doubling, while social media posts highlight sensitivity to charges such as a €3.50 cover and high-priced dishes; local tourism officials see no economic revival.