BAR closures have leapt up in Spain in recent years, with nearly a fifth of them permanently calling time between 2021 and the start of 2023.
The National Institute of Statistics(INE) says that as of January 1, 2023, there were 168,065 registered bars- a 17% fall since 2021.
7.825 bar businesses shut in 2022- a 4.5% decrease on the previous year’s total.
Places defined as bars in the INE study include traditional bars and taverns as well as cocktail bars, and coffee shops.
Owner’s retirements – with children not wanting to take over- and rising costs are some of the reasons given as well as the Covid pandemic.
The Hosteleria de España that represents the hospitality industry says the current picture is now marked by a ‘stability in demand, the evolution of household disposable income and the financial behaviour of companies’.
It predicts turnover rising by up to 4% in 2024.
They added that there are ‘several critical points’ that may affect demand and the future development of bars such as the labour market, the impact of interest rate rises, international uncertainty, and the way prices will go’.
The Madrid region has seen the largest number of closures since 2021, with 5,900 bars disappearing- a 26.3% fall.
Behind it is Castilla y Leon- down 24%- and Galicia with 23.5% reduction.
Andalucia and the Canary Islands saw the number of bars fall by by 10.1% and 10.2%, respectively.
On the plus side, Navarre only fell by 0.4%.
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