B.C. restaurants experienced a notable increase in dining traffic in the last month during the GST holiday, according to new data.
Restaurants in British Columbia experienced a notable increase in dining traffic in the last month, the same time that the federal governmentBetween Dec. 14-27, dining activity across Canada rose by 18 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, OpenTable data shows. In British Columbia, restaurants saw a 12 per cent rise in dining year-over-year, while Alberta saw a 17 per cent increase.The index measures dining frequency and is based on weighted average of restaurant visits across Canada.
“The GST holiday discount is not as big in our provinces as it is in HST provinces making these sales increases even more impressive.”Von Schellwitz also noted that with more activity at Western Canadian restaurants comes more hours for some 335,000 workers employed in the industry in B.C. and Alberta, calling it a “win-win-win.”
Over the last year, restaurants have faced cost increases in just about all aspects of their business, like food , insurance , utilities and labour , according to Restaurants Canada, a not-for-profit association aimed at advancing the country’s food service industry. Von Schellwitz also highlighted B.C.’s exemption of restaurant meals from provincial sales tax, as well as Alberta’s lack of provincial sales tax, as critical factors in making dining more affordable during the tax holiday.
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