A leading industry association claims official figures undervalue the UK tourism, hospitality and leisure industry by £6.5b.

Trends and Statistics 2005 published by the British Hospitality Association (BHA) found the value of the industry was £81.5b not the £75b the stated by the government.

Customers eating (£20.1b) and drinking (£15.9b) out of home are the largest chunk of turnover according to the report, while business related expenditure such as rail or coach travel accounts for around a third (£10b).

Bob Cotton, chief executive at BHA, said: “This is the first time the figures have been researched in detail. Now that we have a base on which to work, we will be able to examine them in future years and derive up-to-date figures for each category of expenditure.”

The report also reveals that from September 2004 to December 2005, 110 hotels – 11,000 rooms - will open in the UK representing a £1.2b investment.

By Kerstin Kuhn

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