Spend on holidays remained flat at £380 million in June over the previous month but was up 4% year-on-year, new research shows.
Total holiday transactions edged up by 1% to 2.4 million over the May level and 7% year on year.
Airline travel spend fell by 4% to almost £78 million last month against May’s level but jumped by 38% on June 2022.
The total came as air transactions rose 3% month on month but by more than a third (37%) compared to June last year.
The annual growth in airline travel spend came with the summer season in full swing as people booked flights for holidays and work.
More: UK spend on holidays ‘set to hit £41bn’ this year
Tui holidays to north of Rhodes resume at weekend
The figures were detailed in a monthly consumer spending report issued by Nationwide Building Society which found that total outlay in June was up by 10% to £8.63 billion year on year in the face of rising prices.
Nationwide includes hotels, travel agents, package holidays and cruises within its holidays category.
Within the total, spending on non-essentials was up by 7% to £3.17 billion with transactions made on discretionary items rose by 8% to 106.8 million.
But the study found that nearly three in five (57%) households are cutting back on spending due to high costs, with that figure rising to 61% in the East Midlands and falling to 48% in the northeast.
Nationwide payments strategy and performance director Mark Nalder said: “Uniform growth in spending suggests that, despite higher prices, people are able to manage their money by balancing the things they need with the things they want. This is reflected in the findings of our research, which shows that financial optimism has reached its highest point this year, although this must be put in perspective given how low confidence had been previously.
“The more upbeat mood comes despite our research showing that people’s spare money has decreased over the last year, perhaps indicative of households becoming more effective at managing their money.
“Despite inflation reducing, it remains stubbornly high and, with the summer holidays starting, we can expect spending growth to continue in the months ahead.”