Campaign aims to drum up support for struggling catering sector

A new campaign from the Brussels Horeca Federation aims to drum up support for the catering sector, which has been struggling under inflation, indexation and soaring energy prices on the heels of the pandemic.

The pandemic had already decimated a number of catering businesses and restaurant owners have long been warning that the situation has not improved under new detrimental factors.

Called "J'aime mon Horeca", the new campaign calls on residents to support the restaurant sector by signing an online petition and sharing the campaign on social networks. The online petition has already attracted more than 4,000 signatures.

“The Belgian and Brussels hotel and catering industry, an essential pillar of our culture and social life, is in the grip of an unprecedented crisis, hurting the establishments that are struggling to stay open despite overwhelming costs and shrinking margins,” the Horeca Federation said.

"Today, the hotel and catering trade is trying to adjust, to crack the code, to rethink the model. But the equation seems insoluble."

The aim of the campaign is to “increase mobilisation to influence political decision-makers” to adopt measures in support of the sector, which has 144,000 jobs and 25,000 businesses, according to 2023 figures.

Concrete proposals include a cut in VAT, a reduction in employers’ contributions, an increase in minimum wages, a review of flexi-jobs, an extension of tax-free overtime and a tax exemption for tips.

Slogans from "J'aime mon Horeca" invite people to imagine their daily lives without the catering sector: "Without us, there would be no heart in your latte", "Without us, there would be no tête-à-tête in the restaurant" and "Without us, there would be no dürüm at the end of a party".