CARACAS (Reuters), Dec. 31 – Several restaurants and bars in Venezuela’s Caracas offer an eight-hour tour in which customers visit each establishment to try and boost sales in a period of persistent inflation.
In a tour organized by the restaurants involved, the “Route of Pagan Temples”, takes diners to two restaurants and seven bars within the city.
“It is about saving the bars (…) and giving them a showcase to survive,” said Freddy de Freitas. The owner of an old Spanish food restaurant located in Caracas center, which has been around for more than 40-years.
He added that the economic situation had affected the business activity in bars located in this area of the city.
In 2019, the government of Nicolas Maduro allowed de facto dollarization, which gave businesses breathing room but not a full recovery.
Due to wage payment delays and inflation of 282%, businesses saw lower sales this year.
The tour begins in de Freitas’ Spanish restaurant where you can enjoy tapas such as potato tortilla and croquettes, before moving on to other establishments by private transport.
The $80 tour ends in an area of Caracas crowded with street musicians.
Maxwell Briceno is a tour guide and photographer. He said, “The route aims to reconnect people to these places and to know their histories, so there’s not a gap between east and west Caracas, and that there is just one Caracas.”
Reuters witnesses report that a group of foreigners joined in on a recent tour.
“I’m lucky to be able to witness this spectacle.” “It’s crazy,” said German tourist Rafael Braumann. He added, “The music is great and the beer is delicious.”