The latest consumer card spending data from Barclaycard has revealed the negative impact of the cost of living crisis on international travel.

The report, which looks at consumer spending from July 23 – August 19, found that the domestic travel sector performed strongly, with summer staycations boosting hotels, resorts and accommodation by 4.1% month-on-month.

International travel, however, has been more heavily impacted by inflation. The report found that travel agents and airlines declined by 5% and 2.6% respectively, which it suggests could be due to holidaymakers “booking travel earlier in the year and those booking last-minute trips choosing to cut back on getaways abroad”.

The report added: “While the summer holidays boosted spending on hospitality and domestic travel, overall card spending declined -1.9% month-on-month, as consumers become more selective with discretionary purchases to ensure they can afford rising household bills”.

Meanwhile, spend on fuel rose 23.9%, marking its lowest growth in 12 months. Barclaycard found that more than one in 10 (13 %) of workers are choosing to walk or cycle to work instead of driving due to rising fuel costs, with 11% commuting by public transport.

The report also found that Brits’ confidence in their ability to spend on non-essential items has fallen to 48% – lower than both July 2022 (54%) and August 2021 (63%).

Optimism in the UK economy has also declined to 21%, compared to 26% in July 2022 and 37% in August 2021. This marks its lowest since August 2020 (19%).

www.barclaycard.co.uk