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Hospitality and leisure businesses brace themselves for the busiest bank holiday in a decade

24th August 2021
Posted by Aston Avery

This weekend marks the first bank holiday weekend since COVID-19 restrictions were fully lifted, and small
businesses across the hospitality and leisure sector are bracing themselves for what for many will be their busiest
weekend of the summer.

New figures from the latest Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer indicate that nearly two thirds of small
businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector expect to see an influx of cash over the bank holiday as people are
out and about. One in seven businesses predict it will be their busiest and most important bank holiday in a
decade, as families look to book activities and food reservations for the long weekend.

Consumer demand to return to shops, pubs and restaurants has also led 60 per cent of retail and hospitality and
leisure businesses to report equal or higher customer numbers than before the onset of the pandemic.

Aston spoke to independent business expert Kate Hardcastle MBE.

Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash