New Research highlights the cultural and tourism value of Europe’s hospitality venues

New HEINEKEN research shows Europe’s pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are becoming destinations in their own right, influencing where people travel and how long they stay - while playing an important role in Europe’s tourism economy and cultural life.

• More than a third of tourists have visited a neighbourhood specifically to try a local venue, while one in five have then stayed longer because of one ¹
• Tourists spend almost €2.5 billion a year on HEINEKEN beers alone - equating to almost two million beers bought by tourists every day ²
• Tourists reveal they seek out the places locals socialise to get a real taste of a destination
• The HEINEKEN Company partners with Magnum Photos to capture Europe through 11 of the local venues at the heart of everyday life.
  
  

Europe’s pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas are becoming a part of the destination itself, drawing visitors into local neighbourhoods and offering a taste of local life over a cold glass of beer.

New research from HEINEKEN, Europe’s leading brewer, found that local bars and pubs are influencing where tourists choose to go, the neighbourhoods they explore and how long they stay. More than a third (35%) of people surveyed said they had visited a particular area specifically because of a local bar, while one in five extended their trip because of one.

With a longstanding presence across Europe’s hospitality and tourism economies, HEINEKEN is shining a light on the important role local venues play in shaping destinations, visitor experiences and local communities. The findings are backed by new economic analysis showing tourism-attributable spending on HEINEKEN’s beer portfolio is worth almost €2.5 billion annually and representing 7% of HEINEKEN’s total supported GDP contribution. Most of that spending takes place in pubs and bars, highlighting the important role they play in Europe’s tourism economy.

Europe’s lifestyle attracts tourists from around the world, contributing an overall estimated €828 billion in tourism spending each year.³ Pubs, bars, cafés and tavernas sit at the heart of that tourism economy, offering visitors a window into local life while supporting businesses and jobs across the continent.

For many tourists, this is because getting a real taste of a destination means going where local life happens. Nearly three quarters (73%) agree you understand a place better when you’ve spent time where locals socialise. Whether it is a bustling neighbourhood pub in London, a canal-side café in Amsterdam or a family-run taverna in southern Europe, these spaces offer something visitors increasingly seek: a chance to experience local life first-hand.

More than three quarters (77%) of tourists said they visited a local pub, bar, café or taverna multiple times during their most recent European holiday, highlighting the role these venues play in creating memorable experiences and helping visitors feel connected to the places they visit.

And at the heart of these spaces is something harder to put a price on: social connection. Nearly three quarters (74%) agree these spaces create opportunities for meaningful face-to-face connection that are hard to replicate elsewhere, while more than half (52%) have struck up a conversation with someone they didn’t know in one.

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.

- Glenn Caton, President of Europe at The HEINEKEN Company

To celebrate the people and places behind these findings, HEINEKEN has partnered with Magnum Photos to create Europe’s Living Rooms, a photography series documenting 11 pubs and bars across Europe.

Launching during European Beer Month, the series explores the neighbourhood pubs and bars to cafés and tavernas where everyday life unfolds, capturing the people, rituals and spontaneous moments that make these venues so important to local communities and visitors alike.

Shot by Magnum photographers across Europe, the series reveals a side of tourism that is often overlooked. It reimagines the true landmarks and postcard moments of Europe as the venues where locals and visitors come together, where conversations begin and where memories are made.

From crowds gathering outside The Devonshire Arms in Soho after work, to friends meeting beside the canals in the Netherlands, to football fans sharing the highs and lows of a match in Madrid, the photographs reflect the social spaces that help give European destinations their distinctive character.

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.

Marine Mérindol, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Magnum Photos

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<sub>About the economic data

Sales figures were taken from a study that was conducted by Steward Redqueen and assesses HEINEKEN’s economic impact across Europe in 2025. Using multi-regional input-output modelling, it combines HEINEKEN’s 2025 financial, procurement, employment, and commercial data with official economic statistics to estimate GDP contribution and employment supported across its value chain. Indirect impacts are described as supported rather than created, as the analysis does not estimate what economic activity would have occurred in the absence of HEINEKEN. The analysis covers 29 European countries, including 21 HEINEKEN operating markets and eight export-only markets.

About the consumer research

The research was conducted in partnership with OnePoll between 21 August and 2 September 2026, polling 11,000 participants of legal drinking age across 11 European markets (UK, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Austria, Italy, Belgium and Czechia).

OnePoll are company partners of the Market Research Society and certified by Communications Management Standards (CMS).

About Magnum Photos

Magnum Photos is a cooperative of acclaimed, independent photographers who share an ongoing commitment to documenting world events, people, places, daily life and culture. Founded in 1947, Magnum Photos has been telling stories of the past, defining the present, and shaping the future through photography for over 79 years, united by its values of uncompromising excellence, truth, respect, and independence. With more than 6.6 million followers across the internet, and a rolling program of museum shows, exhibitions, and events across the globe, Magnum photographers continue to inspire a growing worldwide audience. Find out more at</sub> magnumphotos.com _.

About HEINEKEN

HEINEKEN is the world’s pioneering beer company. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium and non-alcoholic beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 340 international, regional, local, and specialty beers and ciders. With HEINEKEN’s over 87,000 employees, we brew the joy of true togetherness to inspire a better world. Our dream is to shape the future of beer and beyond to win the hearts of consumers. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution, and focused cost management. Through “Brew a Better World”, sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. We operate breweries, malteries, cider plants, and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. The most recent information is available on our Company’s website.