A study has shown that 65% of Portuguese people eat out at least once a month, making Portugal one of the European countries where eating out is most popular.
“Cheaper establishments” such as fast-food restaurants are favoured by the Portuguese.
Research company Nielsen reveals 2% of the Portuguese queried eat out once a day, 5% do so three to six times per week, 16% dine out once or twice per week, and 24% do so two to three times per month.
The study also found that, in the last six months, most Portuguese (58%) chose fast-food restaurants for their meals. Only the Turkish and Swedish people ate more fast-food than Portugal (61%).
And “reasonable prices” are the main reason why people chose to eat out regularly in Portugal.
“Restaurant prices in Portugal are some of the lowest in Europe,” Pedro Carvalho from the association of hoteliers and restaurateurs AHRESP told Diário de Notícias.
“Portuguese consumers are also recovering their purchasing power, so eating out at least once a month is unsurprising,” he added, saying that the effects of the economic crisis that haunted Portugal for the last few years are starting to wear off.
There’s still a long way to go, however, before the Portuguese start to eat out as much as they did before the crisis hit the country, says Jorge Macôr de Brito, Nielsen’s retailer services associate manager.
