Smoke ban forces pubs to re-think
Scottish community pubs are beginning to either close or change their customer offer in response to the smoking ban, new findings suggest.
As the Scottish smoking ban reaches its six-month anniversary, a survey of more than 3,000 community pubs for the Morning Advertiser by analysts CGA found that 19 had closed since the stub-out in March.
Ten had become food-led and four had become hotels.
One pub became a young person's venue and another focused on attracting customers from a local holiday park.
However, CGA said a number of other factors influence an outlet's ability to survive the ban, including the amount of investment in the estate and the customer base.
The survey also finds that operators have not cut prices to attract customers since the ban came in.
In the free trade, a typical round of six drinks cost £13.38 in the first quarter of 2006, compared to £13.50 in the
second quarter after the ban started.
The corresponding figures were £14.43 and £14.53 for managed venues, although prices charged in non-managed pubs fell slightly from £13.71 to £13.69.
CGA's researcher in Scotland, Michael Nicholson, identified a number of trends emerging among pubs since the ban: lunchtime trade has risen; tourist-focused and well-managed venues have prospered while those located in large retail developments or in need of investment have struggled.
Venues with useable outdoor space and outlets that attract young people have performed well.
Families and women are being attracted to traditional pubs, where customer dwell times have increased.
For the full results see pages 24 - 29 of the new Morning Advertiser digital edition by clicking this link.
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