City centre dining to be lower than pre-Covid levels post pandemic, operators predict

The latest poll from Lumina Intelligence reveals that 86% of hospitality operators believe people's behaviour has changed because of the pandemic, with central locations experiencing lower footfall as a result.

Of those, two-thirds of them (67%) predict people's behaviour will have changed ‘somewhat’ as a result of Covid, with 19% believing people's behaviour will have changed ‘highly’, with fewer visits to city centres as people have permanently shifted to working and consuming in their own neighbourhoods.

Only 12% of businesses believe not much has changed when it comes to people's behaviour, with a further 2% unsure.

The poll, of directors and owners in the restaurant, pub and QSR sectors, also found that half of all respondents surveyed believe the hospitality sector will have to adapt to shifts in working and traveling patterns and not rely on Government messaging.

Nearly a third of all respondents surveyed (32%) also believe the hospitality sector, specifically in city centres, will not recover without government encouraging changes in behaviour

Despite this, three-quarters of all those asked say they are confident about the future of their businesses.

The Hospitality Leaders Poll is a conducted by Lumina Intelligence on behalf of BigHospitality, MCA, and the Morning Advertiser.