Most pubs open for lunch on Christmas Day
Of 131 respondents to the survey, 58% said they would just open for lunch on 25 December.
31% of pubs said they would not open at all.
Only 8% of pubs said they would open all day, with 3% opening from lunch until close.
Only 1% of respondents will open just in the evening.
This comes after experience website DesignMyNight saw a surge in Christmas bookings, with more than 21,000 bookings made for the big day alone.
The White Swan at Fence, Lancashire, is fully booked for 25 December.
It will run two sittings at 12pm and 4pm, and guests can enjoy a lavish meal with “luxury ingredients and festive cheer,” as well as champagne on arrival for £175 per head.
Last year, the average pub saw sales drop by £855 over the key trading dates during Christmas 2022.
According to market intelligence firm Oxford Partnership’s Christmas 2022 Flash Report 3 January 2023, the key festive trading days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day saw a rise of 1.4% in sales compared to last year.
However, against pre-pandemic levels, this was down by more than a tenth (13.9%) with the biggest areas missing out on these key dates being city centre locations.
These areas traded significantly worse, which was driven by the travel disruption over the festive period such as the ongoing rail strikes, taking place across the country.
