UK pubs lose their youth

A survey of pub-goers in the UK has found that the number of 18 to 24 year-olds visiting pubs as opposed to drinking at home has declined dramatically over the last seven years from 38 per cent to just 16 per cent.

The research was published at the launch of the Campaign For Real Ale’s Great British Beer Festival, ‘the World’s Biggest Pub’, in London’s Olympia.

The findings might reflect the reasons behind the thousands of pubs that have closed down there over this period. In the past 12 months 39 per cent of the 1,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 65 sampled for the survey admitted to visiting the pub less often than they did a year ago or even not visiting the pub at all. Of this, 150 were between the ages of 18 and 24.
CAMRA’s Chief Executive Mike Benner commented, “Young adults in particular have been priced out of an affordable night down their local pub.

“The Government have encouraged people to use their pubs as community assets, yet this is a hollow message when punitive increases on the price of a pint have meant that consumers are deterred from visiting their local, causing beer sales figures in this country to fall flat.”

The findings further indicate that one in two regular pub-goers prefers drinking at home as it’s so much cheaper.
According to CAMRA’s research, the percentage of pub-goers visiting the pub once a week or more between 2005 and 2012 indicates a decrease from 30 per cent to 16 per cent in the 25 to 34 years age bracket, a decrease from 20 per cent to 12 per cent in the 35 to 44 age bracket, a decrease from 27 per cent to 18 per cent in the 45 to 54 age bracket, a decrease from 27 per cent to 19 per cent in the 55 to 64 age bracket and an increase from 14 per cent to 18 per cent in the over 65s age bracket.