April Restaurant & Dining card spend up 143%

Hospitality's Restaurant & Dining sector witnessed an increase in card spend of 143% in April to nearly €471 million compared with April 2021's €194 million figure according to Debit & Credit card data from the Central Bank.

But there was little change in month-to-month spend from March to April this year.

Overall, card spend on Entertainment rose by 39%, up by €70 million to nearly €252 million compared to a year ago while it actually fell by 2% when compared to the March Entertainment spend of just over €257 million.

At €742.4 million, total social spending decreased by 2% in April compared to March. However, when compared to the previous year, social spending increased by 83% (or by €337 million). This was driven by an increase in restaurant spend.

Total card spend, including ATM withdrawals, declined by 3% (or by €229 million) in April compared to March but was up by 23% (or by €1.4 billion) on April 2021.