Restaurants with outdoor seating and street performers in Singapore reported steep declines in business and earnings during a prolonged haze episode, CNA reported, though operators also cited other factors in weaker traffic.
Chimi’s Especial, where 80% of seats are outdoors, saw business fall 70%, said Aaghir Yadav, general manager of Chimi’s operator Chimichanga. At Stella Seaside Lounge, which has about 70% of its seating outside, sales fell about 60%, CNA reported. Stella served 30 customers on Oct. 15, compared with its usual 90 to 120 on a weekday.
CNA also reported that busker Cliff Lee reduced his daily performing time from four hours to two as his earnings fell nearly 50%. Orchard Road performer Michael Lee estimated that crowds had shrunk by at least half and said his income was down 10% to 20%.
Operators told CNA that the end of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix weekend on Oct. 11 also contributed to lower customer traffic. Their accounts do not establish how much of the decline was due to haze.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) recorded a 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) of 159 to 222 at 8 a.m. ET on Oct. 16, spanning unhealthy and very unhealthy levels. By 6 a.m. ET on Oct. 19, the reading was 88 to 114. NEA said smoke from fires in Kalimantan had drifted toward Singapore.
The Straits Times reported that foot traffic at Harry’s fell about 40%, while a Tekka Centre food stall’s daily customer count dropped from about 500 to 200. The newspaper said Oct. 16 marked Singapore’s 12th consecutive day of unhealthy PSI readings, the longest such stretch since the 2015 haze crisis.
The Restaurant Association of Singapore said a prolonged episode could leave restaurants short of staff, limit outdoor service and disrupt deliveries, CNA reported. Some operators sought government support, including rental relief. Separately, NEA plans notices to three Indonesian companies over concession fires that may have sent smoke toward Singapore; it has not determined that the companies caused the haze.
NEA forecast a 24-hour PSI of 90 to 160 for Oct. 20. It said winds could shift and dry conditions were expected in the surrounding region, potentially carrying more smoke from Kalimantan toward Singapore from the night of Oct. 20 through Oct. 22.
