In order to serve the culinary needs of people as well as tourists during the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet) 2023, many restaurants and eateries in Da Nang are recruiting temporary staff. This not only contributes to increasing revenue for service establishments but also stimulates the city's tourism development.

Illustrative image. (Photo: DNO)

Many options to welcome guests

Till date, restaurants in the city have completed plans to prepare to serve customers during Tet. Ms. Do Ngoc Huong Tra, the Director of My Hanh Seafood Service Co., Ltd in Phuoc My Ward, Son Tra District said that during the upcoming Tet holiday, a number of business’ stores are open throughout Tet to meet the demand of tourists at the beginning of the year.

“The number of customers coming to the restaurant is likely to be larger than in previous years, so the restaurant recruits more staff members, avoiding customer overcrowding. However, the restaurant will expect a surcharge of 10-15% to pay for labour costs when the salary on the Tet holidays is usually 2 to 3 times higher than on a normal day”, said Ms. Tra.

Ms. Phung Thi Le, the Director of Nhang Nuong Co., Ltd., the owner of the namesake restaurant in An Hai Tay Ward, Son Tra District, said that the restaurant ordered raw ingredients from farms and cooperatives to ensure enough sources for processing food during the period before, during and after Tet.

Especially, during Tet, food is still transported to the business by suppliers every day. The restaurant preserves the food during the day to ensure food quality. To welcome the Tet 2023, the restaurant added many incentives such as a maximum discount of 5-20% on the total bill for customers who make seat reservations in advance.

Mr. Le Thai Hoang, the Director of the Da Nang branch of Thai Market Co., Ltd., cum manager of Thai hot pot buffet restaurant Mor Fai in Phuoc Ninh Ward, Hai Chau District informed that during Tet, the food prices increased by 15-25% in the 7-day Tet break.

“The prices of food, transportation and labour are higher during the New Year period than in normal days, so we have to increase the listed price. These days, diners can rest assured because the quality of food and service will be best served by us, so that there will be no short price increase”, said Hoang.

Confidence in the prosperity of the service industry

With many policies to promote tourism in the past year of the city, the number of domestic and foreign tourists to Da Nang has increased. Thanks to this, there will be expectations to develop tourism auxiliary service industries during Tet such as restaurants, eateries and passenger transport services.

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Quynh, the Director of Al Fresco's restaurant chain in Phuoc Ninh Ward, Hai Chau District shared that in the past year, diners to the restaurant increased by 150% compared to last year, about 20-25% were foreign customers. “The sharp increase in tourists coming to the city after COVID-19 has created conditions for service providers to flourish. This creates great confidence in an effective year.”, said Quynh.

Mr. Than An, the manager of the Grand Mercure Da nang Hotel, belonging to Nam Viet A Infrastructure Development and Construction Investment Joint Stock Company, has high expectations in attracting guests in during Tet when 40% of the number of guests have booked rooms in advance from January 21 to 25.

It is expected that the figure will increase until the start of the Tet break. That the restaurant will be open throughout Tet to serve diners.

“Because we know that from now until Tet, there are still many customers who are hesitant about what and where to eat, so advertisement in the media will help increase the number of customers coming to the restaurant during Tet. Hopefully, this will be a springboard to a favourable, stable and prosperous 2023 in each field and industry.”, said An.

According to Mr. Tran Phuoc Tri, the Acting Director of the Da Nang Market Management Department, his agency will continuously inspect restaurants and eateries that are open throughout the New Year in many areas, especially in places with high concentration of tourists in order to avoid illegal price increases, price pressures, and the overcharging of customers.

At the same time, locals and visitors are recommended to make calls to the hotline number of the Market Management Department to report to the competent authority violations committed by restaurants and eateries on the occasion of Tet.

“This year, the number of visitors to Da Nang during Tet is expected to go up. Many restaurants and eateries have planned to serve throughout Tet to meet the needs of diners. Therefore, the management of prices, food safety will be tightened and checked regularly by the Market Management Department so that the city can deserves the name of a livable city”, said Tri.

Reporting by CHIEN THANG - Translating by A.THU