The hospitality industry in the UK today employs over 1.8 million people, equating to around 6 per cent

Restaurants - 120,550

Pubs/Clubs - 109,556

Hotels - 32,298

Contract Catering - 27,545

These are just an example of the many types of Hospitality outlets there are in the industry today. By using the restaurant sector to define the growth in more depth we can learn how even areas such as this can be sub divided further. An example of sub dividing the restaurant industry would be by using the following sub sectors:

Fine Dining,

Popular Dining,

Fast Food/Take-away,

Cafes and Coffee Shops,

Asian, Oriental, Afro-Caribbean, Central and Southern American, And finally European.        (  )

Restaurants are currently the largest sector of the hospitality industry accounting for around 42 per cent of the industry at the last release of government figures. This is important because it can illustrate how people tend to either have less disposable income so can only afford to eat out rather than go and stay in a hotel for a weekend or they would prefer to eat out more than have time away spent within other ares of the industry. Another external factor for restaurants holding the largest market share of the hospitality industry could be the increase in moving around for work. This would have an impact upon the amount of food establishments as those travels would require the basic need of food and therefore purchase such goods as they move around during their working day. Longer working hours and more stressful careers may also have an influence upon this as people purchase their lunch from fast food outlets such Mcdonalds or smaller outlets providing lunch.