Travel is still in high demand into next year with almost half of global consumers (47%) saying overseas travel is a top priority and will spend 28 per cent more on holidays than last year, according to new research into discretionary spending habits and priorities.
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, international and domestic travel still ranks as the highest discretionary spend priority at a combined 83 per cent, ahead of eating out (30%) and shopping for fashion (28%) and big-ticket items (23%).
Travel is in demand
The number of people ranking travel as a high priority for the coming 12 months increased by the largest margin, rising to 47 per cent, up 12 per cent on last year.
This reflects similar Australian research where three in five (57.2 per cent) of respondents said they would be going on vacation in the next 12 months.
Holiday expenditure is up
Travellers also expect to spend significantly more on international travel with an average expected spend of USD$3,422 (approximately AUD$5,345), up 28 per cent compared to last year.
Forty per cent of consumers said they plan to pay for travel by using savings and a third confirmed they will reallocate spend from shopping for clothing and home improvement to fund travel plans.
Travel fintech company Outpayce from Amadeus polled 4,500 travellers in key global markets of the US, UK, France, Germany and Singapore. It said the results indicated a jump in overall consumer confidence.
Make the customer journey frictionless
Outpayce SVP Global Head of Products Management & Delivery Jean-Christophe Lacour said travel companies that deliver a smooth retail experience are best positioned to convert customers.
“This year’s research shows that consumer demand for travel remains strong. People are clearly prepared to spend savings and make sacrifices in other areas to dedicate more funds to international travel,” he said.
Read the full report here.