GDP figures highlight damage to sector but also bounce back potential

By Joe Lutrario

- Last updated on GMT

GDP figures hospitality bounce back

Related tags Coronavirus ukhospitality Kate nicholls Cga

GDP figures published by the Office for National Statistics reiterate the economic importance of the UK’s hospitality sector, and the urgent need for it to be supported by Government as it reopens.

That’s according to trade body UKHospitality, which described the data as ‘bleak reading’ that highlights the ‘importance of hospitality as an economic force’. 

“When hospitality struggles, the entire UK economy struggles,” says chief executive Kate Nicholls. “The huge losses we have suffered this year account for one-third of the slump for the whole economy last year.

"This really hammers home the importance of, and need for, a healthy hospitality sector for the entire country.”

“If we are capable of having such a hugely detrimental impact, we are just as capable of a hugely beneficial one, though. If our businesses are given the support they need to survive the remaining months of the crisis and put in a position to thrive again, they can drive the recovery of the nation.”

Released this morning, the figures show the UK economy shrank by 9.9% in 2020 with the output of the accommodation and food services sector now 51.8% lower than last year.

Additional analysis from the Q4 UKHospitality Quarterly Tracker, produced by CGA, showed a 54% drop in sales across hospitality in 2020, equivalent to a drop of £71.8bn, making hospitality responsible for one-third of the UK economy’s annual £215bn contraction.

The ONS stats also show that hospitality acted as a brake on the UK’s growth rate for Q4, dragging quarterly growth down 0.95% to 1% as sector sales fell by a third.

“Hospitality must be prioritised for support and put at the heart of the Government’s plans for reopening the country. If we are given a chance to do what we do best, we can kick-start the economy and provide investment and jobs in every region of the UK,” adds Nicholls.

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