The latest industry figures confirm what many on the front line of Britain's hospitality sector have long feared: the post-pandemic recovery is leaving them behind. While Spain celebrates a record-breaking summer of tourist spending, UK hotels, restaurants and pubs are struggling to fill positions and pay their bills.
Official data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute shows international tourist expenditure surged 15% in the second quarter compared to 2019, reaching €21.5bn. The sector now accounts for over 12% of Spanish GDP. But the Middle East, once a growing market for British tourism, has seen a shift. Travellers from Gulf states are increasingly choosing Spanish sunshine over British drizzle, with arrivals from Saudi Arabia and the UAE up 30% year-on-year in Spain while UK figures stagnate.
For the UK, the story is one of lost ground. The hospitality sector, a vital employer in regions from Blackpool to Brighton, is grappling with a perfect storm: the end of furlough, rising National Insurance contributions, a minimum wage that has not kept pace with inflation, and the ever-present lure of higher wages in other sectors.
“We used to get a lot of families from Dubai, but now they go to Marbella,” says Sarah Thompson, owner of a small hotel in Bournemouth. “The cost of a pint here has gone up 30p in a year, and we can’t find staff. It’s a cycle we can’t break.”
UKHospitality, the trade body, reports that one in ten hospitality jobs remain unfilled. The result is reduced opening hours and lower service standards, further deterring tourists. Meanwhile, Spain has invested heavily in vocational training and digital marketing, while the UK government’s visa schemes for hospitality workers remain limited.
“The government talks about levelling up, but the hospitality sector in the North is being left behind,” says Mark Johnson, a regional officer for Unite the Union. “Our members are working longer hours for less pay, and the lack of affordable housing is driving young workers out of coastal towns. We need a strategy that values these jobs.”
The real economy is about choices: where to work, where to spend, where to holiday. Right now, too many are choosing elsewhere. If the UK fails to invest in its hospitality workforce, the only growth will be in takeaway boxes and ghost kitchens. The kitchen table waits. The question is how long ministers can ignore it.
