New research by GDS provider Amadeus found three-quarters of respondents to a survey of 4,500 consumers from the UK, France, Germany, the US and Singapore said they were more likely to choose a pay-by-instalment option to fund their travel over the coming year.
This compares with 44% who said they were more likely to use a credit card, and 26% so-called "payday loans". Nearly half of all respondents (47%) said they would look to use any outstanding loyalty points they have to pay for trips.
Amadeus said faced with economy uncertainty, travellers were seeking new solutions "to reduce the expense of paying internationally and to flexibly fund their trips".
This includes pre-paid debit cards – 48% of respondents said they were now more likely to try pre-paid cards that can hold multiple currencies to avoid foreign exchange fees.
"The demand for flexible payment options like buy now, pay later in travel is extraordinarily high," said Amadeus executive vice-president – payments David Doctor.
Amadeus’s 2022 consumer travel spend priorities survey also explored respondents’ discretionary spending plans, revealing there remained significant demand to travel despite the economy uncertainty of the time.
International travel was the biggest "high priority" area of discretionary spend, highlighted by 42% of respondents. This was followed by domestic travel (32%), online subscriptions (28%) and eating out (27%).
On average, respondents said they expected to spend US $2,670 (£2,200) on international travel over the next 12 months, which Amadeus said was broadly comparable with 2019 levels of spending.
"This research clearly shows consumers are prepared to forego spending in other areas of their lives to accommodate travel this year," said Doctor, adding the industry would need to look for help travellers manage their spend.
