ABSTRACT
The contributions made by the hospitality industry to this general rise in standard of living are considerable and varied, providing essential products and services, leisure services, large-scale employment and wealth creation. Tourism, of which the hotel and catering industry is a principal element, is now claimed to be the world’s fastest growing industry and also one of the leading earners of foreign currency. The total value of tourism to the UK in 2003 was estimated to be £76 billion, with overseas visitors spending close to £12 billion of that figure in foreign currency (British Hospitality Association, 2004). The value to the nation’s 2002 Gross Domestic Product of specific hospitality sector services was estimated at over 4%. The fact that millions of people eat meals at or near their places of work or study, rather than at home, would not be possible without restaurants, cafés, public houses, fast food and takeaway establishments and in-house catering facilities. Furthermore the improved standard of living and increased discretionary income enjoyed by the majority of people has resulted in many more being able to enjoy a vast range of hospitality products which in earlier times were restricted to the affluent in society.
