Barclays says Britain's hospitality industry is booming. Good news but it might not last

Britain’s tourism economy is booming, says Barclays, and with warnings already being issued to those willing to brave its decrepit transport infrastructure as millions prepare for a Bank Holiday getaway, who could argue?

According to Barclays Business, the hospitality industry is in the midst of a sweet spot, thanks in no small part to the Brexit-driven crash in the pound’s value.

It isn’t Britons that are lining its pockets. While some three-quarters of UK adults have been on, or are planning, a UK stay-cation this year, up from 70 per cent last year, they’re spending less.

There’s that weak pound again, which has pushed up inflation and squeezed household budgets.

However, an influx of overseas visitors has made up the slack. Their money goes a lot further when they come over, and that fact has helped to push their numbers up by 7 per cent, while their spending is up by 2 per cent, pumping £2.2bn into an economy that badly needs it.

On the back of numbers like that, Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business Banking, says it is “essential that UK businesses plan ahead and carefully position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities both domestic and overseas tourists can offer”.

However, when I asked what the bank thought they should do about the looming staffing crisis they face, it descended into a bit of a blubbery mess. Don’t mention the War! Or Brexit. Or the free movement of people.

The paranoia about discussing the issue, and its consequences, openly, on the part of some businesses, isn’t helpful because it is an issue that needs to be discussed. Britain’s hospitality businesses certainly seem to want it talked about because part of the planning Mr Rand references involves making sure you have the staff to cope with the demand.

The British Hospitality Association, for example, said back in March that the industry would face a 60,000 staff shortage should Britain turn its back on the free movement of people.

Other industries (such as construction) and business groups have been making similar points. Even if Barclays doesn’t feel able to draw the obvious conclusion from its survey, and the impact it might have on the booming industry it identifies, I can.

Staff shortages threaten to bring the boom to a juddering halt. If those free-spending foreign tourists can’t get served at restaurants, or have their rooms cleaned, or order a drink at a bar, they won’t be back in a hurry.

That’s a problem, because the hospitality industry is one that we badly need to thrive.

It’s a handy foreign exchange earner that does no end of good to Britain’s yawning trade gap. It might also serve to create a more favourable impression of the country with visitors than its politicians currently do. They could ultimately be the cause of its future woes. Or they could solve them. The ball is very much in their court.