National Pubs Week is Camra's rallying cry

Consumer group Camra has joined forces with brewers, pub companies and wholesalers in a campaign to raise awareness about the decline in the number of British pubs.

The campaign will be spearheaded by National Pubs Week, which will run between 22 February and 1 March 2003, with the aim of encouraging people to visit pubs more regularly.

The week will be promoted under the slogan: "There's a pub for everyone" and will seek to highlight the enormous variety of pubs in the UK.

Camra's head of campaigns Mike Benner said the event was being staged in the light of recent research that showed around 20 pubs a month are closing ­ particularly those serving rural areas and smaller urban communities.

Benner said: "The pub scene is changing. The onslaught of towncentre theme bars ­ often undercutting local pubs ­ rages on, making it ever more difficult for licensees of smaller or independent pubs to compete and make a reasonable profit." He said that results of a major survey of Britain's pub-going habits would be released during National Pubs Week.

He added: "Preliminary results suggest that 22% of people choose a pub because of the people that use it. If pubs wish to promote themselves and encourage customers to visit more often there are a number of options for them to choose from, depending on the age category they wish to attract.

"Younger customers, 18 to 34-year-olds, are more likely to visit pubs running good-value promotions on drink, whilst older customers, 35 years and over, are more likely to be attracted by food promotions.

"Least popular reasons for visiting pubs are the choice of wine, the fact that a pub has no music, and that it shows sport on TV."

Participation in National Pubs Week is open to all types of outlets, not just those offering real ale, and Camra has prepared information packs and developed a list of practical ideas for licensees.

If you want to participate

Camra is offering a National Pubs Week promotional pack. In it, licensees will get specially-designed posters and beer mats to feature in their pubs on the run-up to and during the event.

Camra said the packs will help customers know that something special is happening during the week and that the pub is involved. Packs can be ordered via Camra's website ­ www.camra.org.uk/pubsweek ­ or by telephoning 01727 867201.

Licensees are also urged to contact their local Camra branch to see what events it is planning. If licensees don't know their local branch, they can contact Camra direct on 01727 867201 for details. The consumer group is also giving advice on how to increase custom, such as offering a free glass of something warming such as red wine or a winter beer to go with a selected number of meals.