Struggling Caracas restaurants, bars offer tour to boost sales

Several bars and restaurants in Venezuela's capital Caracas are offering an eight-hour tour where customers visit each establishment in a bid to boost low sales at a time of persistent inflation. "It's about rescuing the bars (…) giving these spaces a showcase so that they can survive," said Freddy de Freitas, owner of a Spanish food restaurant in Caracas' center which is more than 40 years old. The government of President Nicolas Maduro relaxed control of the economy in 2019, allowing de facto dollarization which provided breathing space for businesses, though not a complete recovery.