UK Hospitality Sector Reaches £102bn Value in 2018

Date: October 2018

Location: UK

What: The UK hospitality sector has reached a total annual turnover of £102bn and a year-on-year growth of 4%,

Who Said: The Office for National Statistics (the British Government)

The data represents the first time that all businesses in the ‘Accommodation and Food Services Activities’ category have turned over in excess of £100bn (up from £98bn in last year’s data), according to analysis of ONS data published across the last six years by hospitality recruitment platform, Adia.

Despite the positive results, the ONS’ business population data for 2018, reports that growth in the sector is down to 4% from the average growth rate of 6% achieved between 2013 and 2017.

Although some analysts are predicting an employment crisis in the industry post-Brexit, Adia’s analysis shows that more than two million people are now employed in the sector, an increase of nearly half a million in five years. The number of businesses operating in the sector however, fell by around 8% in the last year, from 202,060 to 185,955.

Adia’s UK manager, Terry Payne, said: “Although there is much to be encouraged by in these figures, the declining number of businesses operating in the sector makes for uneasy reading. An industry that contributes more than £100 billion annually to the UK economy is significant and its role as a wealth and job creator needs to be protected.

“The significant growth in employment reflects both the demand from consumers and from those who want the working flexibility that the sector is able to offer. But, as an industry, we need to be even more agile in the way we employ and recruit staff, making greater use of technology and social media, for example, to recruit staff and help businesses more effectively manage costs and resourcing according to peaks in demand.”

Adia CEO, Ernesto Lamaina, said the hospitality sector plays a “valuable role as employers and job creators” in the UK economy.

“Our analysis indicates that the amount of people working in the sector has increased by over 409,000 in the last five years, which is testament to the health of the industry. However, as we’re seeing across the entire economy – the way we’re working and employing is changing. Employees expect flexibility and often, employers require it – businesses must respond to that.

THPT Comment: Does the UK government take Hospitality seriously enough? Given that we are probably the 4th largest business sector/employer in the UK.

First Seen: Conference & Incentive Travel