Atmosphere is key for fans as third go to pubs for Euro 2016

A massive 79% of those planning on watching football in a pub indicated atmosphere is important in influencing choice of venue, ahead of  location, the quality of the viewing and even the availability, variety and cost of the food and drinks.

Licensees can expect a flood of customers during the tournament, after the tracker found the pub is the most popular out-of-home destination to watch the Euros for British football fans, with more than a third planning to do so at least once this summer.

Pubs are particularly prominent in the plans of young fans, with more than 60% of 18 to 24-year-olds expected to boost he industry during the tournament.

Given the timing of many of the matches, several respondents commented that they would like their employer to allow them to watch the games during work hours.

For the England-Wales game, scheduled to take place at 2pm on 16 June, more than double the number of respondents said they intend to watch the game in a pub than those that plan to watch it in their workplace.

Fiona Gunn, Greene King group marketing director said: “With such a large proportion of the British population planning to enjoy games in a pub alongside friends, family or colleagues, it is clear that it remains a well-established social venue for Brits.

“The importance of the pub’s atmosphere highlights that the character of the pub remains at the forefront of consumers’ minds when deciding where they will watch the upcoming games.

“At Greene King, we are pleased to see that the popularity of the pub as a sports venue remains high.

“To ensure we offer football fans the most optimum viewing experience possible, we have invested in creating a great atmosphere across our pubs by decorating the pubs with flags and bunting and offering quizzes, games and competitions before, during and after screenings of the games.

“We look forward to welcoming all customers to our pubs for this exciting tournament!”

Other highlights

• In April, the average British household spent £206 on out of home leisure, a £10 (5%) decrease month-on-month. This was due to a stronger March due to this year’s Easter date
• This was a £9 (4%) decrease in overall spend year-on-year driven by a £10 (12%) drop in spending on other leisure. Spend on drinking out remained unchanged and eating out increased £2 (2%)
• While the eating Out increase appears modest, viewing these figures in the context of Easter shows eating out performed well. This April (a non-Easter month) saw spending on eating out surpass that of April 2015 (an Easter month). 
• Year-on-year, spend on drinking out is unchanged, and while the figures do not appear particularly positive, spending on Drinking Out  keeping pace with the Easter month of April 2015 represents a strong performance.
• Year-on-year spend on other leisure declined significantly, with the GB Average falling by £10 (12%) year-on-year and £5 (6%) month-on-month.
• This year’s Grand National was held in April, and spend on gambling increased by £1 (10%) month-on-month.