Travel spend continued its upward momentum last month following a strong start to the year in defiance of cost of living pressures.
The amount spent on airlines and travel agents up 31.5% and 32.3% respectively year-on-year, Barclays February UK consumer spending report revealed.
The travel sector continued to see growth compared to last year at a time when Covid travel restrictions cast a shadow over bookings.
The spend on travel – up by a cumulative 28.3% over February 2022 – was down on the 66% level achieved in January.
However, transaction growth through travel agents last month was up by 38.8% year-on-year and 17% for airlines.
This compared with just 2.6% on hotels, resorts and accommodation with a 0.2% decline in overall monthly spend.
Barclays found that spending at discount stores was up by 5.5% as consumers continue to search for value.
The bank’s head of client insights Viktorija Lygnugarte said: “It is clear that the cost of living squeeze is having an impact on consumers as they cut down on discretionary purchases, reflected by a number of non-use dial categories slowing in spend growth.”