We appointed Progressive Partnership, an independent research agency, to undertake the survey on behalf of STERG. There were 2,974 responses to the online survey, which ran from 19 November to 6 December 2020.
The sample includes a majority of accommodation providers, particularly self-catering. This is important to bear in mind when looking at total sample findings. A detailed break down of the sample by the main business activity is available in the full report to download.
Published January 2021
For some the summer and autumn months 2020 were better than expected.
But the large majority experienced lower turnover than in 2019 and the decrease was significant –60% on average.
Over a third of businesses reported that they did worse than expected when they re-opened in the summer or early autumn months (2020).
One in four did do better than they expected. A breakdown by sector and by region is available in the report to download.
Almost all businesses reported losses due to the pandemic.
At the time of the survey (November / December 2020) revenue losses tended to be in the region of £10,000 to £50,000.
More than half of all businesses responding claim to have lost up to £50,000 (58%).
39% reported losses of more than £50,000, with one in ten losing more than £500,000.
Three quarters of respondents reported that they had reduced their staff numbers, with one third of these making staff redundant.
Hotels were the most likely to report that they had made staff redundant and reported the highest average number of redundancies.
Scaling back operations, reducing staff and reducing the range of products / services offered were the main actions taken to help businesses survive the crisis.
Half reported that they had made changes that they plan to continue post COVID-19, such as:
Read more information available within the report on:
We conducted several surveys to inform decision making and recovery planning during the pandemic. To monitor the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), we also supported the work of partner organisations.
View a compilation of data on country, regional, and global level on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism.
Read an analysis of how tourism industries in the UK have been affected by the coronavirus.
Take a look at the recovery response in tourism and the wider economy.