Heineken links local pubs to Europe’s tourism economy

The company is also highlighting the role of these venues in the region's tourism economy through a photography partnership with Magnum Photos.

Heineken research shows that pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are influencing how tourists experience Europe, affecting where they travel, which neighbourhoods they explore and how long they stay.

More than a third of tourists surveyed, 35 percent, said they had visited a particular area specifically because of a local bar, while one in five said they had extended their trip because of one. The research also found that tourists spend almost €2.5 billion annually on Heineken beers, equivalent to almost two million beers purchased by tourists each day.

Heineken research links local venues to tourism

The research indicates that tourists often seek out places where local residents socialize as a way to experience a destination. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they understand a place better after spending time where locals socialize.

Seventy-seven percent said they had visited a local pub, bar, café or taverna multiple times during their most recent European holiday. Heineken says these venues can draw visitors into neighbourhoods and offer opportunities to experience local life beyond traditional tourist attractions.

Europe's pubs and bars support tourism and social life

Economic analysis commissioned by Heineken estimates that tourism-attributable spending on its beer portfolio is worth almost €2.5 billion annually, representing 7 percent of the company's total supported GDP contribution. Most of this spending takes place in pubs and bars.

Europe's tourism economy generates an estimated €828 billion in annual spending. Heineken says local hospitality venues contribute to this economy while supporting businesses and employment and providing visitors with opportunities to engage with local communities.

Social connection is another factor highlighted by the research. Seventy-four percent of respondents agreed that pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas create opportunities for meaningful face-to-face interaction that can be difficult to replicate elsewhere. More than half, 52 percent, said they had started a conversation with someone they did not know in one of these venues.

Glenn Caton, President of Europe, The Heineken Company: "Tourism is hugely important to Europe, and thriving pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are part of what makes its cities and neighbourhoods worth visiting. They bring visitors into local communities, support hospitality businesses and jobs, and give people a reason to explore beyond the traditional tourist trail. But their value isn’t only economic. These are places where visitors can experience local life first-hand, meeting people, discovering local culture, and becoming part of a community, even if only for an evening. Europe’s Living Rooms celebrates that wider role, and the positive contribution that beer and hospitality make to Europe."

Heineken and Magnum document Europe's local venues

Heineken has partnered with Magnum Photos on Europe's Living Rooms, a photography series documenting 11 pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas across Europe. The project launched during European Beer Month and focuses on the people, routines and interactions that shape everyday life in these venues.

Magnum photographers documented venues ranging from The Devonshire Arms in London's Soho to cafés and bars in the Netherlands and football-focused venues in Madrid. The series presents these spaces as places where residents and visitors meet, socialize and experience aspects of local culture.

Photography project focuses on everyday European life

Marine Mérindol, Chief Operating Officer, Magnum Photos: "This project resonated with us so strongly. Magnum photographers immersed themselves at eleven bars across Europe to paint a portrait not just of places, but of the people who make them matter; from the regular who's sat in the same seat for twenty years, to a toast repeated the same way every night, or a football chant that turns a room of strangers into teammates. These are the details that so many miss if they are just passing through. A true understanding of Europe Living Rooms is earned by staying long enough to relate to them, and this is exactly what documentary photography can capture that other mediums can’t. It doesn't just illustrate a place; it witnesses it. Through the collaboration with HEINEKEN, these photographs capture something true about how people in Europe live and connect together."

The series aims to show how local hospitality venues contribute to the character of European destinations by documenting the people and social interactions that take place in them.