Hospitality sector ‘to generate £100bn in 2018’

The total turnover of hospitality businesses is expected to reach £100bn this year, analysis of data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) by hospitality recruitment platform, Adia suggests.

The analysis also found that over the last five years, the total turnover of all companies in the sector has steadily grown at around 6% a year.

The total turnover of all businesses in the hospitality industry reached £98bn in 2017, up from £92bn in 2016 and £86bn in 2015. Based on this rate of growth, Adia expects this figure to comfortably reach £100bn in the ONS’ 2018 data, which is expected to be published in the autumn.

Adia’s analysis of government business population estimates has also revealed that the amount of people employed in the sector now exceeds 2.3 million, representing an increase of 21% compared to 2013 – when the total amount of people working in the industry stood at 1.9 million.

Furthermore, the amount of firms providing accommodation and food services activities in the UK has grown by just under 20% in the last five years, having reached 202,060 – up from 169,235 in 2013.

Adia CEO, Ernesto Lamaina, said: “The hospitality sector makes a significant and important contribution to British economic output, equally, the 202,000 businesses operating in the industry play a valuable role as employers and job creators.

“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.”

He added: “We believe the ‘now economy’ is a system where companies can more efficiently manage staffing costs, and people are free to pursue the roles they want.”