The UK's hoteliers are feeling positive about an upturn in business this year, according to the latest survey from consultants TRI Hospitality.
Over the past three months there has been a marked turnaround in optimism in the hospitality industry with more than half of respondents to TRI's Business Confidence Monitor survey saying the business environment was "pleasing" or "very pleasing" and only 13.1% saying it was "disappointing".
In the previous three months 40% of respondents said the current business environment was disappointing.
And the industry's faith in a return to stronger trading appears to be growing. TRI said that some three-quarters of respondents were optimistic for business in the three months from January.
Although London hoteliers remained uncertain of the environment, with 54.5% of respondents in the capital saying they were unsure about how business would hold up, hoteliers in the provinces were upbeat about the future, with almost 87% saying they were optimistic about business in the first quarter of 2004.