Consumers in the UK anticipate that they will spend more in pubs and restaurants this Christmas period than they did last year, which could bring these businesses as much as £6.8 billion in earnings.
According to a Deloitte survey, Britons said they plan to spend 18 per cent more than during the holiday season in 2006.
Each person could spend an average of £143 in pubs, restaurants and nightclubs over this period, the figures indicate.
Glyn Bunting, partner in the hospitality & leisure team at Deloitte, commented: "Despite some concerns in the pubs and restaurant sector about loss of business when the smoking ban was introduced this summer, our research suggests the ban has encouraged rather than deterred consumers from eating out this Christmas."
He suggested that pubs and restaurants could further gain from tailoring their service to families and older people during the holidays.
Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium reported that retail food prices in shops were at a high for the year at the end of November.
