Spending growth through agents fell slightly in October despite an overall rise in travel spend, latest Barclays data shows.
Travel remains popular, up 6.7%, largely owing to growth at airlines of 9.3%, as people book getaways abroad.
While still in growth, spending at travel agents fell slightly from September (7.8%, compared with 9.2%), “possibly indicating that holidaymakers are taking a more hands-on approach to travel next year,” Barclays said.
The card spend statistics, for the month ahead of last week’s Budget, show transaction growth through travel agents of 16.5% and 5.5% with airlines
The strong demand for travel was highlighted by holidays ranking top in a list of discretionary spending priorities, chosen by 22% of respondents, according to the bank.
Three in 10 consumers (28%) have already booked a getaway for 2025, with almost a quarter (23%) of these holidaymakers booking early to save money, while one in three (31%) will be visiting a new destination they have not been to before.
This came as Barclays reported that consumer confidence in household finances, discretionary spending and the UK economy improved year-on-year last month.
“Other confidence measures showed significant year-on-year improvements; confidence in household finances increased nine percentage points compared to last year, at 70% – on par with September. Similarly, 57% feel confident in their ability to spend on non-essential items, up five percentage points year-on-year,” Barclays said.
Jack Meaning, the bank’s chief UK economist, said: “With price pressures continuing to ease and tentative signs that consumer confidence is improving once again, following what appears to have been a post-election dip, we think that the stage is set for real spend growth, as we move through the final quarter of the year, and look ahead to 2025.”
Barclays head of retail Karen Johnson said: “The days may be getting darker and longer, but Brits continue to find the bright spots by prioritising the things they love. We’ll be keeping a close on whether consumer confidence holds in November and in the run up to Christmas.”