It has been estimated that £1.21bn was spent over the coronation week in hospitality venues across the country, equivalent to £69 per person, according to a study by vouchercodes.co.uk.
The majority of this spend, £640m, related to drink as consumers flock to their local pub gardens. This equates to 35.5 million pints of beer, 5.3 million bottles of wine, 2.4 million bottles of sparkling wine, and 200,000 bottles of Pimms set to be consumed over the weekend in hospitality venues alone.
As well as drink, a further £570m was forecast to be spent on food from restaurants, cafes, and pubs over the weekend. The majority of hospitality spend was expected to come from the 10.3 million consumers choosing to eat in restaurants and cafes, where £967m was expected to be spent. The other £242m was expected to be spent on takeaways as 7.2 million people enjoyed the weekend at home.
Breaking this down further, restaurants were expected to see the biggest boost in sales over the weekend as 4.1 million customers plan to dine out. A further 3.3 million were likely to head to bars or pubs in search of a boozy night out, 2.4 million were expected to head to cafes, with 1.3 million visiting a club over the weekend. Another 2.2 million were forecast visit another type of venue - this equals 13.4 million hospitality visitors in total over the King’s Coronation bank holiday weekend.
Maureen McDonagh, managing director and SVP international at VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “Whilst our research shows that sentiment towards the royals is mixed, the bonus bank holiday for King Charles’ Coronation will undoubtedly lead to a welcome surge in consumer spending for the tourism sector.
“Although not everyone will be celebrating the event directly, many consumers will take advantage of the extra time off work to go on weekend breaks and visit friends and family across the country.
“However, it’s important for the tourism sector to keep in mind that many consumers are still adapting to the pressures of the current economic climate, and value for money is front of mind. Customers should not only have a great experience, but should feel like they are getting a great deal too as this will ensure they return, and more importantly recommend your business to others."