"Mr Davis said that he has recently been contacted by several individuals in the hospitality industry, asking him to raise funds to purchase distressed assets. Luke Davis is concerned that the hospitality industry will not survive without a lot more investment "We have seen a very strong customer response to the scheme, but we are not complacent and the real proof of the pudding will be when the scheme finishes at the end of August," says a spokesman for The Restaurant Group.UK Hospitality, an industry group representing the sector, said it's too early to tell if the scheme could lead to consumers changing the days of the week when they prefer to dine out. "But it would still be a risk, as no one knows what is going to happen. The Eat Out to Help Out scheme will run from Monday 3 August 2020 and hungry diners can enjoy a meal out at restaurants across NewcastleGateshead whilst benefiting from great discounts on food orders all day, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 31 August 2020. "Despite the uptick in business, Hawksmoor' Mr Beckett expects the scheme to cause a "slight displacement" where "some of the demand moves to Monday-Wednesday, from Thursday-Sunday".The extra bookings have been helpful to the business, but only to a certain extent. Although total value spend in UK restaurants between Monday and Wednesday was up 9.3% on the same period the week before, it is still 11.2% below the same time last year.Mr Davis strongly believes that the only way to solve the problem is to inject more investment into the hospitality sector.He is particularly critical of a change of legislation in March 2018 that has meant the government's Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is no longer applicable to the hospitality industry "at large". "Footfall results for the three days from Monday to Wednesday indicates that the 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme has benefited retail destinations post 6pm, more than at lunchtime. Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto. Mr Davis said his own restaurant Rockwater will survive, but it has taken on more debt Going out twice next week and once a week the 2 weeks after that (all pre-booked). The Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme starts on Monday - meaning big savings at your favourite restaurants, cafes and pubs throughout August. Families can enjoy money off in the Eat Out in the Help Out scheme. He thinks a lot more needs to be done to help the hospitality industry survive. Eat out to help out: Coronavirus scheme offering UK diners 50% off begins 'Eat out to help out will definitely affect the weekend' Coronavirus: How can I use the 'eat out to help out scheme'? Meanwhile, restaurant booking website Opentable found that the number of diners making reservations jumped 10% on 3 August, compared to the same day in 2019. "The most obvious way in my mind that it's helping restaurants, is that it's helping people to learn to go out again," Mr Beckett told the BBC. "Over the three-day period, footfall rose in retail destinations across the UK by 18.9% post 6pm, versus a rise of 9.6% at lunch time (12pm to 2pm). You do need people to come along and buy up these assets, people who are willing to take the risk," he added. The scheme also boosted visitor numbers between 12pm and 2pm, when they rose 9.6%.Smaller market towns benefited the most, with footfall up 25% over the first three days of last week, while regional cities recorded a 19.2% gain.Over last week as a whole, visitor numbers at high streets, malls and retail parks rose 3.8% from the week before.