According to trade newspaper The Spirits Business, the UK Hospitality Industry has lost approximately $150 billion when the market was initially shut down due to Covid-19 in March 2020. The analysis shows the financial damage that the sector has suffered throughout the timeframe of the pandemic.
According to the group’s data, the hotel business in the United Kingdom produced up to £140 billion ($190.7 billion) every year prior to the pandemic. That hasn’t been the case since the outbreak, when revenues at restaurants plummeted by 43%, owing in part to the loss of 45 full weeks of work, which is equivalent to £114.8 billion ($156.3 billion) loss in revenue.
Although there has been some improvement in the Covid situation since, the hospitality business still faces several issues in the foreseeable future. Many hotel businesses are suffering from reduced cash reserves, and many have complained that Covid-19 has put them at risk of closure. Several hospitality businesses are also concerned that the government would hike VAT, thus UK Hospitality has decided to retain the tax at 12.5 percent for the time being.
UK Hospitality’s study did offer up some glimmers of hope, though. The industry made £17.3 billion ($23.6 billion) during the fourth quarter of last year. That’s a 32.3% drop from 2019, the last full pre-pandemic year, but is a 121% increase compared to the same period in 2020.
“These figures lay bare the utter devastation that two years of this terrible pandemic has wreaked on the third largest private sector employer in the UK, with thousands of businesses closed, many on the brink of collapse and countless jobs lost,” the group’s chief executive, Kate Nicholls, told the publication earlier this month.
More Stories
Japan to Launch New Bullet Train Route to Highlight Hidden Gems
Hilton Partners with Sleep Expert to Launch Sleep Retreats
2024 State of Travel and Hospitality Buyer’s Journey Report Unveiled by Hovr