The year 2020 has been a rough one for the accommodation and restaurant industry. After the COVID-19 lockdown in the first months of 2020, many restaurants reopened in the second half of the year, but their daily traffic dropped sharply compared to a year ago.
However, with governments closing down bars and restaurants amid the second wave of the pandemic, the much-expected holiday season, which usually adds up big profits for the restaurants, will bring new staggering losses for the entire industry.
According to data presented by AksjeBloggen.com, the combined revenues of the accommodation and restaurant industry in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, as the three largest markets in Europe, is expected to plunge by $95.7bn amid the COVID-19 crisis.
UK’s Accommodation and Restaurant Revenues to Plunge by $43.8B in 2020
Measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus caused enormous losses for the UK restaurant industry. On March 16th, Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised the public to avoid bars and restaurants, though no ban was yet enforced.
The year-over-year drop in seated diners in UK restaurants plunged by 52% that day and 82% on March 17th. Only a few days later, all restaurants were forced to close.
After almost three months of lockdown, restaurants in the United Kingdom were allowed to reopen on July 4th, providing they followed strict hygiene conditions to prevent a second wave of the virus. A week later, the number of seated diners in UK restaurants was still down by 45%, but it gradually increased.
However, as the country reintroduced lockdown measures on November 5th, following an increase in the number of new COVID infection cases, the percentage of seated restaurant diners in the United Kingdom was almost 95% lower compared to last year’s figures.
The Statista data also revealed the revenue of the United Kingdom’s accommodation and restaurant market, as the largest in Europe, is expected to plunge by almost 40% YoY to $74.5bn in 2020. In the next two years, this figure is forecast to rise to $100.7bn. Still, 17.5bn less compared to 2019 figures.
The German accommodation and restaurant industry has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. The Statista COVID-19 Barometer 2020 data from June showed Germans changed their opinion about the restaurants drastically amid the pandemic. Almost 50% of respondents stated they planned to avoid bars, pubs, and restaurants even once the restrictions are lifted.
Statistics show the German market is expected to witness a 25% drop amid the COVID-19 crisis, with the revenues falling from $104.9bn in 2019 to $80bn in 2020.
French accommodation and restaurant industry is also expected to witness a 25% revenue drop in 2020. In 2019, restaurants and bars in the country generated $117.8bn in revenue. With thousands of caterers closing their businesses amid the COVID-19 lockdown, this figure is forecast to slump by $27bn in 2020. Statistics show the French market is expected to fully recover in the next three years, with revenues rising to $125.3bn by 2023.
Spanish Revenues Halved Amid COVID-19 Crisis, the Biggest Drop Among the Top Five Markets
As the fourth largest in Europe, the Italian accommodation and restaurant industry is expected to lose $15.5bn amid the COVID-19 crisis, with revenues falling to $84.8bn in 2020.
However, statistics show the Spanish restaurant sector has taken the hardest hit among Europe’s top five markets.
In October, Spain became the first European country to report one million coronavirus cases since the pandemic started. To curb the spread of the virus, the Spanish region of Catalonia, which includes the city of Barcelona, ordered bars and restaurants to close for 15 days.
In 2019, the entire Spanish accommodation and restaurant sector generated $90.2bn in revenue. Statistics show this figure is forecast to slump to $47.6bn in 2020, a 49.6% plunge year-over-year.