One in three ready for outdoor visits

One in three UK adults say they will visit pubs and restaurants when they reopen on 12 April with outdoor seating and service only.

The research, obtained from a snap poll of 500 UK adults by KAM Media, found that Generation Z and younger Millennials are least likely to be put off by the prospect of ‘outdoor seating only’, with 43% of 18- to 34-year-olds saying they’ll return, compared with 24% of over 55-year-olds.

A further 26% of UK adults said they intend on waiting for pubs and restaurants to reopen with indoor seating and service before they visit them, with 33% not planning on visiting pubs or restaurants at all for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19. This figure was 42% for over 55-year-olds.

"It’s positive that such a large proportion of potential customers are happy to dine and drink outside," says Katy Moses, MD of KAM Media. "I’ve heard examples of incredibly high numbers of bookings where operators are lucky enough to have outdoor space. And it’s not a huge surprise that younger customers will be the first back into our beer gardens and outdoor dining areas. This reflects what we saw last July, when hospitality first reopened. 

"Most of our research throughout the pandemic has pointed to the fact that older customers are being more cautious, for obvious reasons. It seems that despite the vaccination programme, these customers are still less likely to return to hospitality right away."