Spending on international travel saw its strongest performance since before the start of the pandemic as restrictions continued to lift, new Barclaycard data reveals.
Travel agents and airlines saw much smaller contractions of 26.9% and 28.1% in October compared to the previous month, when the categories declined by 45.4% and 49.5% respectively.
This was described as “encouraging news” for the travel sector.
Overall consumer card spending last month grew by 14.2% over October last year.
“While growth slowed in some non-essential categories, such as clothing and hospitality, it was a particularly good month for entertainment, digital subscriptions and travel,” Barclaycard said.
However, in signs that shoppers may be cutting back on retail spending, some sectors recorded smaller growth than in September, including clothing and department stores.
This comes as almost nine in ten (88%) consumers say they are worried about the impact of rising inflation on their household finances – a minor improvement on September (90%).
A similar number (89%) are concerned that rising bills will have a negative impact on their household finances, with 38% spending less on ‘nice-to-have’ items.
In addition, three in ten (29%) of those concerned about rising household bills are cutting back on social events, including drinks and meals out.
Barclaycard head of consumer products Jose Carvalho said: “The expensive festive period on the horizon, combined with ongoing concerns around the impact of inflation and supply chain shortages, has meant we’ve seen steady yet cautious spending from consumers in October.
“While the uncertainty around rising household bills appears to be weighing on Brits’ minds, the encouraging growth we’ve seen in entertainment and international travel shows that consumers are still keen to enjoy leisure activities and holidays.
“As the nation continues its Christmas shopping and gears up for Black Friday and other sales, we’re confident that November should bring some welcome cheer to retailers.”