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The Campaign for Real Ale, otherwise known as CAMRA, has been lobbying the government against
beer tax, which it says is damaging the pub industry. Figures show that three million fewer UK adults are visiting the pub on a regular basis and CAMRA says that this is due to the tax, but are there other factors at play?
Customers are always going to be affected by the wider economic situation and times are tough, which it is agreed, the tax is not doing anything to help, but is more expensive beer the whole of the story? While there is an overall drop in the number of people visiting pubs and many a sad story of community watering holes having to close, there are some which are still thriving.
There are pubs up and down the country still managing to bring in customers despite the beer tax and the state of the economy. So what are they doing differently? The answer is that for pubs to survive they need to adapt to the times and change the offerings available to customers. Beer has always been an integral part of the pub experience, but it is not the whole picture and this is the case now more than ever.
Those who frequent pubs want a well-rounded experience down from the quality of their pint and the food served up right through to the atmosphere of the establishment. This latter point is an important one, as the price of beer continues to increase there are aspects of a pub business which can be improved without extra outlay. Motivating staff and instilling them with the importance of a warm welcome is vitally important, as this is a good way to encourage repeat business.
When beer tax increases it is important to ensure that there are other reasons to visit a local pub, which means fulfilling an important community role. While it is certainly not easy to run a pub in these difficult times, pubs which branch out and offer more than just cheap beer have the best chance of surviving.
