Consumer expenditure on travel is estimated to be up by a third in January, with the second weekend in the month likely to have seen a peak in holiday bookings.
Analysis by John Lewis & Waitrose partnership card reveals that spend on flights and travel agents was higher in January 2014 than in any other calendar month throughout last year.
The analysis show expenditure on airlines in January 2014 was a third (33%) higher than the monthly average across the year and well over double that of December 2013 (148%).
Meanwhile, spend on travel agents was 22% higher than the monthly average in 2014, while the amount spent on agents in January 2014 was 104% higher than spend in the previous month.
With the economic outlook broadly in line with where it was in January 2014, the trend of a post-Christmas boost for travel companies and airlines could well extend into 2015.
Spokesman Keith Bibby said: “While January is traditionally a time of the year when households are watching the pennies, this does not seem to be the case when it comes to travel, and the back-to-work blues seems to fuel rather than dampen the spirit of those people who want to make 2015 a year of exciting travel opportunities.
“Booking a holiday in January can offer some great savings thanks to the deals that are traditionally offered by travel companies at this time of year.
“Other ways of saving money might include buying an annual travel insurance policy if you plan to travel on a number of occasions this year, or, by using a loyalty-based credit card, savvy shoppers can use the rewards earned to stock up on supplies for the trip, like new luggage for example.”
Kuoni, with concessions in eight John Lewis department stores, cited the second weekend of January 2014 as the peak time for bookings in the month.
Helen Roberts, head of direct sales, said: “It is traditional that we see a big spike in travel bookings post-Christmas as people make the most of the sales period and give themselves something to look forward to in the year ahead.
“The Maldives was our most popular holiday destination last year, followed by Thailand and Sri Lanka. Italy was our highest ranking European destination, coming in seventh in our top ten destinations.”