The brewer said the figure equated to almost 2m beers bought by tourists every day and highlighted the role hospitality venues play in Europe’s tourism economy.
Join our WhatsApp channel: The Morning Round-Up
Get the biggest pub trade stories straight to your phone. Listen to our one-minute daily news briefing and receive breaking news, exclusives and sector updates throughout the day. Remember to turn notifications on in the top right corner!
The research found pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas were increasingly becoming destinations in their own right, influencing where visitors travel, the neighbourhoods they explore and how long they stay.
More than a third of tourists surveyed, 35%, said they had visited a neighbourhood specifically because of a local bar, while one in five said they had extended a trip because of one.
Tourism economy
The research also found 77% of tourists visited a local pub, bar, café or taverna multiple times during their most recent European holiday.
Almost three quarters, 73%, said spending time where locals socialise helped them understand a destination better, while 52% said they had struck up a conversation with someone they did not know in one of these venues.
Heineken said the findings were supported by economic analysis showing tourism-attributable spending on its beer portfolio was worth almost €2.5bn annually, representing 7% of the brewer’s total supported GDP contribution.
Glenn Caton, president of Europe at The Heineken Company, said: “Tourism is hugely important to Europe, and thriving pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are part of what makes its cities and neighbourhoods worth visiting.
“They bring visitors into local communities, support hospitality business and jobs, and give people a reason to explore beyond the traditional tourist trail. But their value isn’t only economic. These are places where visitors can experience local life first-hand, meeting people, discovering local culture and becoming part of a community, even if only for an evening.”
The findings come amid continued debate over visitor levies, with the Government saying decisions on whether to introduce an overnight visitor levy in England will be for local leaders.
