"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 2.4 per cent lower than in January 2023, while real sales are 5.0 per cent lower. Dr Thomas Geppert: "This is a bitter development, as the hospitality industry is the regional driver of the economy, integration and employment. Equal taxes on food - regardless of whether it is 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 real reduction in bureaucracy and administration and incentives to work."