The decline in the number of catering establishments continued for the fourth year in a row, data published by researcher Nielsen this week revealed. Currently there are 34,400 such units in the country, which is one per cent lower than a year ago. Twenty-seven per cent of the total is made up by restaurants – including cafés and confectioneries – where the decline was around the average. The biggest drop was suffered by pubs with a decline of about five per cent while the least-affected segment was that of restaurants at lodging facilities.