UK loses appetite for pre-Christmas dining out because of Omicron
The UK public’s appetite for eating out has plunged to its weakest since the spring amid growing evidence of the impact of the Omicron variant on the hospitality sector during its crucial pre-Christmas period.
The number of seated diners fell by 14 percentage points in the week ending 20 December to 88% of the level in the same period of 2019, before the start of the pandemic, according to the weekly digest of flash economic indicators from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Using data from the online restaurant booking site OpenTable and other sources, the ONS said Britons were eating out less and working from home more in response to rising infection rates and the government’s plan B measures.
Amid widespread reports of bookings being
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