Holiday Spending Rises in 2023 Despite Cost-of-Living

More exciting statistics have been released of late as all through the travel industry many are watching the holiday spending numbers rise in 2023 from 2022 despite the present issue of the cost-of-living crisis.  

Though there are consistently rising concerns across the country surrounding essential finances and the rising cost of living, many travel consumers are still prioritising their holiday spending money in 2023. According to a report provided by Nationwide, UK travellers are still pushing for their next great holiday while dealing with the impact of tighter finances.  

In this most recent report on consumer holiday spending, the bank’s survey statistics showed a great improvement on travel from 2022, with the demand for travel continuing to rise and the impact of Covid continuing to recede. According to the report, holidays and travel have been “driving” the overall spending for non-essentials by UK consumers, this occurring in spite of the reported 70% of UK consumers that stated concern surrounding their finances and their ability to cover essential costs. 

The research found that in January 2023, the holiday spending for UK consumers had increased by 43% from January in 2022, this increase took spending to £321.5 million for the month. This was accompanied by flight sales in January 2023 which rose by 68% to £82.6 million from January 2022.  

The report read, “Annual growth in spending on both categories demonstrates the rising cost of travelling and taking a holiday, accounting for nearly 14% of all non-essential spend.” 

Another report on the subject also contributed some increased statistics to the rise of holiday spending in 2023. According to the second report, 39% of UK consumers have already booked their holiday either in the UK or abroad before the end of February. This accounts for a 48% rise for those aged 18-34 and a 31% rise for those aged 45-54. 

This survey also showed where many consumers with bookings are based, with the north-west and north-east of England coming up as the most likely regions for UK consumers to already have bookings, with 46% for the north-west and 44% for the north-east. Those who live in the south-west have come in at 31%, and those living in Wales have come in at 35% likely to already have their next great holiday booked.  

So, if you’d like to learn more about how your consumers’ monies are protected with Protected Trust Services (PTS) and how we support excellent travel businesses, check out our pages. Or you can get in touch with the lovely PTS team by calling 0207 190 9988 or emailing us at ask@protectedtrustservices.com.