The Spanish and their bars

THE Coca Cola company have just completed a study that states that there are 350,000 catering establishments in Spain. That means that there is one bar for every 132 inhabitants.

The study then goes on to analyse the relationship between the Spanish and their bars.

In the regions of La Rioja and Extremadura with the ratio is  142 and 124 people for every bar. At the other end of the scale are Murcia and Navarra with 531 and 340 people for every bar.

The study also shows that two-thirds of people know the names of the staff at their local bar and thirty per cent would apparently not hesitate to leave their house keys at the bar because of the trust they have between them.

Furthermore, 84 per cent of those questioned associate the bar with ‘fun, enjoyment and happiness’ and 74 per cent believe it the best place to ‘disconnect’ and to meet friends. Around 64 per cent believe that the bar is part of their Spanish culture.

Some 5 per cent say that they visit the bar at least once per day and 30 per cent visit the bar on several occasions per week. Asked for reasons that they chose a particular bar, 22 per cent said for the food and drink, 21 per cent for the staff and 14 per cent chose an establishment for the prices, particularly now with the financial crisis.

However, since the start of the crisis, 50,000 bars have been forced to close and sales in the catering industry have fallen by 22 per cent since 2008, some €13,100 million less in revenues, and due to this, 76,000 people have lost their jobs.