Barclays Travel Forum delegates on Thursday (9 May) heard that despite high rates of interest and inflation, regulatory changes and geopolitical shocks, travel had a strong 2023 with that post-Covid upward trajectory set continue in 2024 as well.
Rohan Kumar, Barclays head of client insight, told the forum that over the past 18 months there had been continuous growth in the travel space with spending going up due to Brits continuing to prioritise their holidays above all other areas of non-essential spending.
New figures from Barclays reveal spending across travel increased by 10.1% in the 12 months to March 2024, while spending per customer went up by 7.5% over the same period.
Travel is also rebounding strongly compared with 2019. According to the bank’s latest data, more of its customers are spending money on travel post-pandemic, up by 0.3% to 55.3%. Spend per customer has also increased post-Covid, going up by 13.8% to £1,331pp when compared with 2019.
“People are not seeing travel as non-essential,” Kumar said. “They’re willing to cut back on clothing, beauty and general retail this year – and actually [have] for the past 18 months.”
Guests, though, were warned to guard against complacency, with shifts in economic, geopolitical and regulatory frameworks still likely to present challenges.
In the UK, these include the upcoming general election, reforms to the Package Travel Regulations and Atol scheme, and inflation and interest rates remaining higher than at any period during the past 10 to 15 years.
Nevertheless, the forum’s speakers said there were reasons to be optimistic, especially in terms of the UK’s economic outlook.
“The productivity growth outlook for the economy is a little bit brighter than it has been for some time,” said Barclays head of multi-asset wealth Will Hobbs. “And to that extent, the economy should grow faster.”
TravLaw partner Krystene Bousfield, meanwhile, highlighted the positives that have come from the travel industry taking a more robust approach to spurious claims by customers and other businesses.
"I’m not saying the travel industry is litigious and horrible to everyone, but it’s standing up for itself – and that’s something I’m really proud to see,” she added.
