Playa Spice Program Extended to Aid Restaurants

Playa del Carmen — The Playa Spice program will be maintained by restaurateurs until October 15 due to the success it has achieved, allowing food service businesses to maintain operations during the recent low season by increasing sales between 15 and 20 percent.

Restaurants Maintained Operations

Roberto Lepe, president of the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry (Canirac) in Playa del Carmen, stated that while the increase is very low, what this program meant was that restaurants did not plummet drastically and were able to maintain operations. At the same time, local diners were able to enjoy the gastronomy of Fifth Avenue and the tourist zone.

“We are already preparing for the high season, with the best views, with the best intentions. From Canirac, we are very available to implement things. We extended Playa Spice for a couple more weeks because we saw a good result, to give flow to the local economy and to continue giving the opportunity for locals and foreigners to learn about the gastronomy we have here, until the 15th,” said Lepe.

Hopes Event Gains Traction in Low Season

While he acknowledged it was a campaign that did not have extensive dissemination, the intention is for it to become a reference point that is taken up year after year and gains strength over time to help mitigate low seasons.

“We ran a strong campaign on social media, we put up a couple of billboards to announce ourselves and the project, in the media, and also by word of mouth, the diners themselves doing some publicity, and the municipality also joined this initiative by giving it publicity directly. We have had an increase of 15 to 20 percent; it’s not very large, but it helps us a lot as a turning point to renew it year after year,” Lepe explained.