Nine out of 10 Italians will stay at home for Christmas lunch this year rather than eating out, a sign that the economic crisis is still having an impact on families in Italy, according to a survey by catering association FIPE in cooperation with Format Research.
The survey said just 11% of Italians planned to eat Christmas lunch in a restaurant or other public venue in Italy or abroad, making up about 5.6 million Italians, 512,000 less than in 2015.
Of those surveyed, 87.7% said they plan to spend their Christmas lunch at home with friends and relatives, compared to 84.5% in 2015; while 9.2% said they will eat in a restaurant or other venue outside the home in Italy (10% in 2015) and 1.8% said they planned to eat Christmas lunch in a restaurant abroad (2% in 2015).
Nearly 60% of restaurants will be open on Christmas day, a fact that FIPE President Lino Enrico Stoppani said confirms the sector's desire to drum up more business.
"The year that's ending has been a critical and back-and-forth one, mainly due to acts of terrorism that have occurred in various parts of Europe," Stoppani said.
"The climate of economic uncertainty is still weighing heavy," said FIPE research office director Luciano Sbraga.
"Even company Christmas lunches and dinners organised in restaurants are down," Sbraga said.
In general, restaurants at Christmas plan to offer an "all inclusive" menu with regional specialties and an average price of 51 euros, slightly up on Christmas 2015.
FIPE said New Year's will be a bit better for restaurants, with 14.7% of Italians planning to eat the typical "Cenone" outside the home in Italy or abroad, equivalent to 7.5 million people.
However, that figure is also down compared to 2015, although just slightly at 0.2%, or about 100,000 fewer people than in 2015, due to the fact that fewer Italians are going abroad for the holidays.
The remaining 85% of Italians plan to eat New Year's Eve dinner at home, up 1.6% on last year.
Nevertheless, restaurateurs are optimistic: eight out of 10 said that they already estimate their locales will be fully booked for New Year's Eve.
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