Spending on hotels, resorts and accommodation increased 3.3% year on year in August, marking a return to growth as travel spending recovered following five consecutive months of decline.
The latest Barclays Consumer Spend report showed overall travel spending rose 3.1%, its highest level so far this year. Spending with travel agents increased 4.4%, while airline spending rose 3.5%, marking the first growth in airline spend since August 2025.
The recovery in travel contributed to a 3.3% increase in hospitality and leisure spending during the month. Consumers also continued to spend on eating and drinking, with overall spending in the category rising 1.8%.
Spending at pubs, bars and clubs increased 2.7%, while restaurants, cafes and bakeries recorded 1.5% growth. Takeaway and fast-food spending also rose, increasing 1.6% year on year.
Entertainment recorded one of the strongest performances during August, with spending up 5.9%, driven by cinemas and bowling alleys as consumers sought out summer blockbusters and cooler indoor environments during the heatwave.
Across the wider economy, card spending increased 2.1% year on year, with both essential and non-essential spending recording the same rate of growth. The increase represented a 13-month high, although it remained below the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.1%.
Consumer confidence in household finances also improved during August. The report found the proportion of consumers confident in their household finances rose to 66% from 64% in July, while confidence in their ability to live within their means increased to 71%. Confidence in spending on non-essentials also rose, reaching 54%.
Despite the improvement, concerns around prices remained widespread, with 84% of consumers worried about rising prices. Seven in 10 were also concerned about the impact of drip pricing and dynamic pricing on their household finances.
Rohan Kumar, head of Spend Insights at Barclays, said: “Card spending continued to build momentum in August, reaching a 13 month-high, while consumer confidence showed signs of recovery. Growth in discretionary purchases and strong performances across travel, eating and drinking and entertainments all contributed to a boost for hospitality and leisure, suggesting many finished summer by prioritising holidays, social occasions and memorable experiences, even as price and value concerns stayed firmly front of mind.”
Spending on hotels, resorts and accommodation increased 3.3% year on year in August, marking a return to growth as travel spending recovered following five consecutive months of decline.
The latest Barclays Consumer Spend report showed overall travel spending rose 3.1%, its highest level so far this year. Spending with travel agents increased 4.4%, while airline spending rose 3.5%, marking the first growth in airline spend since August 2025.
The recovery in travel contributed to a 3.3% increase in hospitality and leisure spending during the month. Consumers also continued to spend on eating and drinking, with overall spending in the category rising 1.8%.
Spending at pubs, bars and clubs increased 2.7%, while restaurants, cafes and bakeries recorded 1.5% growth. Takeaway and fast-food spending also rose, increasing 1.6% year on year.
Entertainment recorded one of the strongest performances during August, with spending up 5.9%, driven by cinemas and bowling alleys as consumers sought out summer blockbusters and cooler indoor environments during the heatwave.
Across the wider economy, card spending increased 2.1% year on year, with both essential and non-essential spending recording the same rate of growth. The increase represented a 13-month high, although it remained below the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.1%.
Consumer confidence in household finances also improved during August. The report found the proportion of consumers confident in their household finances rose to 66% from 64% in July, while confidence in their ability to live within their means increased to 71%. Confidence in spending on non-essentials also rose, reaching 54%.
Despite the improvement, concerns around prices remained widespread, with 84% of consumers worried about rising prices. Seven in 10 were also concerned about the impact of drip pricing and dynamic pricing on their household finances.
Rohan Kumar, head of Spend Insights at Barclays, said: “Card spending continued to build momentum in August, reaching a 13 month-high, while consumer confidence showed signs of recovery. Growth in discretionary purchases and strong performances across travel, eating and drinking and entertainments all contributed to a boost for hospitality and leisure, suggesting many finished summer by prioritising holidays, social occasions and memorable experiences, even as price and value concerns stayed firmly front of mind.”
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
Copyright BlazeThemes. 2023
