Hospitality businesses have positive outlook for 2012

But on a positive note, only a tiny minority (4%) had a negative outlook for the year ahead. These figures were supported with over four fifths of businesses (90%) expecting their profit levels to increase or stay the same. Although the general outlook for leisure and hospitality businesses is broadly positive, almost half (45%) of business leaders predict the recovery to be slow with low growth, whilst slightly more (47%) predict economic stagnation. Less than a tenth (8%) think the economy will slip back into another recession. Ali Aneizi, Baker Tilly commented: "As the results of the Outlook 2012 survey show, despite the UK economy teetering on the edge of a double dip recession, there is confidence within the leisure and hospitality sector for the rest of the year." With a view to tackling the continuing economic downturn, half of businesses (49%) said that they were focusing on improving their processes and systems, while over two fifths (43%) aiming to cut costs directly. In addition to implementing measures to help strengthen their position, over a third (47%) of businesses were looking to raise new capital to help them through the economic downturn and hopefully open up new revenue streams. Ali Aneizi continued: "It seems that the general sentiment amongst hospitality and leisure firms is fairly positive and they are looking to innovation and improved service to help flourish through these uncertain times. "Although there are some measures that the Government can take in helping businesses to continue the recovery, the basis of performance for the sector is going to be heavily driven by consumer confidence."