ALICANTE – The municipality of Alicante is giving away €500,000 in restaurant vouchers on Thursday, November 2. The initiative represents an injection of €1 million into the local catering and restaurant sector. The other half is financed by consumers themselves.
From 9.00 am consumers could purchase their vouchers via the website to use them until November 26. Moreover, the vouchers are expected to sell out quickly as previous experience has shown that demand is high.
Promotion to encourage consumption in low season
According to the Councillor for Tourism, Ana Poquet, the dates for the campaign were chosen in consultation with the sector to stimulate consumption between the summer season and the Christmas period. That is normally a very quiet period for catering establishments. Repeating this successful campaign aims to create a win-win situation for both consumers and catering entrepreneurs.
Registration and purchase
Interested persons must register on the website where they can buy vouchers worth €50 euros for just €25. Each consumer may purchase a maximum of 15 restaurant vouchers, which amounts to a value of €750, of which €375 is subsidised.
Locals first
However, only residents of Alicante over the age of 18 are allowed to purchase the vouchers. These can be exchanged at one of the more than 150 participating eateries. These range from well-known and traditional restaurants to recently opened cafes and modest eateries.
Campaign goals
The aim of this campaign is to stimulate local consumption and provide economic support to both households and participating establishments. This should help mitigate the negative impact of high energy costs, commodity prices and inflation, which reduce consumers’ disposable income.
Collaboration for better management
The municipality has entered into an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce of Alicante for the management of the Bono Gastronómico. In 2021, the first ‘restaurant voucher 2021’ program was set up as a support measure during the corona crisis, with a budget of €350,000. In 2022, this program was continued with its own budget of €500,000 and it was decided to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce for more effective implementation. This improved the process of registration, purchase of vouchers by users, control of consumption and settlement by participating establishments, municipal sources said.