"The situation in the hospitality industry is very serious," says the regional managing director of the DEHOGA Bavaria. "We are seeing consumer restraint, per capita sales are falling." In concrete figures, this means that nominal sales in January 2024 are down by 2.4% compared to January 2023, while real sales are down by 5.0%. Dr. Thomas Geppert: "This is a bitter development, as the hospitality industry is the regional economic, integration and employment engine. Equal taxes on food - whether consumed in a beer garden or to-go at a snack bar - must be introduced in order to maintain structures. In addition, we finally need statutory weekly working hours, a genuine reduction in bureaucracy and administration and incentives to work."