According to a report released by UKHospitality, the hospitality sector has the potential to boost its direct impact on the economy by £29 billion and generate 500,000 employment opportunities by 2027, providing that the industry receives adequate support.

The recently unveiled economic report, crafted by Ignite Economics and introduced during UKHospitality's summer conference, unveils that over the past six years, the hospitality industry has amplified its yearly economic contribution by £20 billion, reaching £93 billion.

Furthermore, the report highlights that employment within the sector has escalated to 3.5 million, solidifying hospitality as the country's third-largest employer.

The report states that, despite post-pandemic growth obstacles, the hospitality sector managed to contribute £54 billion in tax revenues to the Treasury in 2022. Additionally, it generated £20 billion in exports and £7 billion in business investments.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, commented:

“These figures show just how much of an economic powerhouse hospitality is.

Despite going through a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis over the past six years, as a sector we have continued to overcome challenges to increase our value to the economy and cement our position as a major employer.

It’s essential that our role as a strategically important sector for the nation is recognised by politicians, and that we work together to help grow our economy contribution, create more jobs and enhance our offering in communities.

This report shows what can be achieved if we can stimulate growth, bear down on inflation and have an enabling and supportive policy environment in place for hospitality. The potential for the sector to deliver another £29bn to the economy annually is an opportunity that the Government should be eager to embrace.

I urge the Government to work even more closely with us, to seize the opportunities available and unleash the incredible potential of hospitality. This means tackling short-term issues that are stifling further growth, like enormous energy costs, food and drink inflation and damaging labour shortages, and really looking at the long-term structural issues holding businesses back, across business rates, licensing and planning.

I’m incredibly proud of the resilience our sector has shown in recent years and the fact we continue to be a significant source of economic growth.

Our sector has a long track-record of growing rapidly and driving the economy – these figures back that up and I hope the potential of hospitality is harnessed by the Government.”