Preston saw fifth highest jump in hospitality footfall in the UK after 17 May rules change

Prestonians have been back out in force since the 17 May Covid rules change

New research has revealed that footfall and visits in the UK’s hospitality and restaurant sector went up by around a third (32%) in the week immediately following the re-opening of indoor hospitality on Monday 17 May.

The data includes the first Saturday since restrictions were relaxed.

The North West region saw the largest jump in activity, rising by an average of 39%.

With Preston coming in as the second biggest increase in the North and the fifth biggest increase in the UK with a 52% jump.

In the 15 towns and cities showing the greatest rises, the increase ranged between 44% and 56%, suggesting that indoor hospitality added half the number of customers again. The North West and Yorkshire dominated the list: while Slough topped the ranks with a 56% increase in visits, locations such as Harrogate, Bury, Wigan and Preston all showed increases of over 50%.

The research was carried out by Huq Industries, a mobility research business, using its Community Vision product, for use by local councils to support decision-making around the future of our cities, towns and high streets.

Huq’s extensive dataset of real-time population mobility data, comprised of 1bn+ mobile geo-location data-points daily, is used by retailers, investors and the public sector to measure footfall across a range of consumer, business and industrial settings.

Conrad Poulson, chief executive officer at Huq Industries, comments: “The North of England has definitely led the way when it comes to people returning to hospitality venues, now that we can gather indoors once more.

“It’s interesting that London saw the smallest increase in people returning to indoor hospitality. This could be due to lingering nervousness, or the easy availability of home delivery options. It does suggest that restaurants, pubs/bars and hotels in London may have to work even harder to attract people back after the lockdown.”

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