British universal bank Barclays says in its new report that travel, which has been one of the best-performing categories in 2023, saw an increase on consumer card spending by 13.2 pc in September.

In September, travel spending grew by double digits as the industry continued to be one of the best performers of the year, says a report by British bank Barclays. According to a press statement, consumer card spending on travel increased by 13.2 pc in September, with travel agencies reporting monthly increases of 7.1 pc and 10.6 pc in transaction value.

“Travel, which has been one of the best-performing categories in 2023, continued its double-digit growth, or 13.2 pc. Much of this uplift is driven by demand for holidays abroad, with spending on airlines up 31.1 pc. Consumers are also on the lookout for ‘surge pricing’, almost half have noticed companies, such as hotels, airlines and pub chains, raising prices during peak times,’’ says Barclays in its statement.

The statement says that continued outlay on travel came despite consumers cutting spending on other discretionary items. The Barclays report found a 4.6 pc rise in spending on essential items, driven by grocery shopping and rising fuel prices.

The report says that overall consumer card spending grew 4.2 pc, less than the inflation rate of 6.3 pc but higher than the August growth figure of 2.8 pc.

“Over the last few months, a picture has been building of consumers beginning to pull back on discretionary spending as the cost of living. We have seen the warning signs from surveys, and now we see it in the more concrete spending data. This suggests the outlook for consumers, and the businesses that rely on them, is weak, even as they finally see their disposable incomes rise faster than inflation. It makes it hard to see anything but a relatively stagnant economy on the horizon,” says Barclays Chief UK Economist Jack Meaning.

“Consumers are also starting to pull back their spending in some non-essential areas, so that they can put more money aside for the festive season,” adds Barclays Director Esme Harwood.