The number of Japanese restaurants is expected to continue increasing in Thailand despite persistent Covid-19 outbreaks.
According to Atsushi Taketani, president of the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) in Bangkok, based on his organisation's talks with many people in the restaurant business, they expect Japanese restaurants will continue expanding in Thailand.
Consumption will be both special meals and everyday meals, he said.
Nonetheless, according to the latest market survey by Jetro conducted between Sept 8 and Nov 7, a total of 276 new Japanese restaurants opened in 2021, down from 457 new restaurants in 2020.
Currently, there are 4,370 Japanese restaurants in Thailand. Of the total, 2,073 restaurants are in Bangkok, down by 1.5% from last year, and 2,297 are in provincial areas, up by 15.5% from 2020.
According to the survey, the types of restaurants in Bangkok that saw a decline this year included sushi, shabu/suki, izakaya, yakiniku/BBQ, teppanyaki and soba/udon.
Japanese restaurants of all types, except yakiniku and teppanyaki, continued to open in upcountry areas, particularly fully Japanese restaurants and sushi restaurants.
"This is the first time that the number of Japanese restaurants in provincial areas has outpaced the number of restaurants in Bangkok. The contribution of Japanese restaurants in upcountry areas in 2021 increased to 52.6%, up from 45.5% in 2019,'' said Mr Taketani.
He attributed the overall continuous increase in Japanese restaurants mainly to the growing popularity of Japanese culture, expanding customer base via various product price policies and an increase in new retail complexes outside Bangkok.
Sushi restaurants that are part of a franchise have driven the number of venues to continue to increase since last year, he said.
Currently, there are Japanese restaurants in every province. In 2021, Nonthaburi became the second-largest Japanese restaurant market after Bangkok, followed by Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Samut Prakan provinces.
There are currently 4,370 Japanese restaurants in the kingdom, said Mr Taketani.
In a related development, according to the survey, as a result of the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, some 231 restaurants temporarily closed their operations, compared to 70 restaurants the year before.
Despite the government's easing of tougher lockdown and curfew measures, allowing consumers to dine-in at restaurants since Sept 1, the number of customers and restaurant revenue have yet to fully recover.
According to Mr Taketani, based on interviews with Japanese restaurant operators during Nov 15-Dec 16, their sales improved by 70-80% depending on menus, location and target customers.
Overall sales of major Japanese restaurant chains in the first nine months of this year dropped by 28-56%, compared to the same period last year.
The market value of the food industry in Thailand this year is expected to decline by 13.5-17.3% to 330-350 billion baht.
"With the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, Japanese restaurant chains have likewise been facing many challenges and have to deal with a labour shortage and count on the revival of the tourism industry as well as cope with changes in the lifestyle of consumers," said Mr Taketani.