Hospitality businesses in Northern Ireland face uncertainty this year despite a busy festive period, industry leaders have warned.
The 2022 Christmas period was the first time the industry was not affected by coronavirus restrictions since before the pandemic.
Both Hospitality Ulster and the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation said spending and footfall returned to pre-pandemic levels this festive season.
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But some hospitality businesses are concerned about the cost-of-living crisis, in particular the impact rising energy bills and stock bills could have on profits, especially in quieter months at the beginning of the year.
Colin Neill, the chief executive of Hospitality Ulster, which represents pubs and restaurants, said hospitality businesses are concerned about the first few months of 2023.
"The profit we make in the Christmas period is what we use to keep the lights on in January, February and indeed up to March," he told BBC Radio Ulster.
"The worry is now profit has been reduced have premises made enough to keep them going there and what will the market now do?"
Mr Neill said many businesses will not know if they have made enough money to cover their bills and offer profits until the end of January.
He added: "That now is our worry about how we keep the lights on. The big worry obviously is profitability because we can’t pass on the costs we are getting hammered with.
“But Christmas was positive. It will now take a few weeks to see what profit came out of that and face now the downturn that we expect.”
Janice Gault, the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, said it's quite difficult to compare this Christmas to other Christmases, but it seems many people decided to put money worries to one side and enjoy themselves this festive period.
She said: "I think it’s quite difficult to compare this Christmas to other Christmases, it's very different from the climate of 2018 and 2019.
"Different cost base, different stresses – but I think overall people had made the decision that Christmas was going to be something they were going to put worries aside and go out and meet up with friends."
Ms Gault said hotels would experience an "interesting time" over the first three months of the year, as they would find out whether or not people would continue to spend on stays amid the cost of living crisis.
"The biggest challenge for anyone is going to be uncertainty," she added.
"No sector likes uncertainty - our sector... tends to be something that people go to as a matter of choice... it's not something you necessarily have to do.
"Uncertainty is not going to help any business through the next couple of months."
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