Outlets look to loyal local customers

With the economic downturn and the scorching summer prompting a drop in tourism figures, the region’s F&B industry is turning its attentions to the local market to drive business.

“It’s true that tourism isn’t as strong as it used to be,” noted BinHendi Hospitality vice president Naveed Dowlatshahi. “So now we have to work on the local population and focus on bringing them back more often to our restaurants.

“The only way to do that is to have a value proposition coupled with good service,” he asserted.

According to Cravia deputy chief executive Louay Ghandour, value-for-money is the industry’s current buzz-word.

“Obviously foot traffic is down in malls, around 15-20%, because tourism is less,” he said. “So as a brand you have to offer a good-value experience.

“You have to drive frequency nowadays — customers need to come to us more often than they did in the past in order for us to maintain overall spend.”

Gourmet Gulf Company president Antonio Bautista added that it was important for outlets to accommodate the attitude of the local customer base, which had changed in recent months.

“Last year, various concepts on the market were just increasing prices year-on-year by 10%, regardless of other factors — and the market absorbed it. But I think now that attitude has changed,” he said.

“If you look at the spend-per-head in restaurants, those of us that did not just increase the prices year-on-year will reap the benefits, because customers today are looking at the bill.”