Travel spend growing in the UK this year
UK building society Nationwide’s spending report found a big leap in transactions and spending for travel
Holiday spending by Nationwide members in January 2022 totalled £208.71 million, an increase of 379 per cent year-on-year. Transactions reached 1.2 million, up 518 per cent. Additionally, purchases of airline travel totalled just over £49 million in January, up 408 per cent; and sales of cruise holidays reached £6.9 million, an 899-per-cent increase.
Nationwide said in a statement: “The number of transactions in each of these three categories have risen by 400 per cent or more compared to last year. These are also the only areas where there has been a significant increase in spend in January compared to December.”
Non-essential spending is rising
Mark Nalder, Nationwide’s Head of Payments, added that non-essential spend had risen 43 per cent more in the first month of this year than 12 months previously. He warned the rising cost of living ‘continues to slowly bite into consumers’ pockets’, with spending including energy, water and tax bills up nearly 10 per cent on the same month last year.
However, the travel sector might still see growth this year. “We expect spending to grow in February as the lifting of Plan B restrictions and the return to offices boosts spending in areas such as travel, eating and drinking and leisure and recreation,” Nalder said.