Travel spend up year on year, says new report
Spending on air fares was up more than 8% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period of 2016, according to new data.
Cardlytics, which analysed the spending behavior of more than three million bank customers, found that consumers spent 4% more on travel overall, and hotel spending rose nearly 10% in the first quarter.
However, there was a 2% drop in the amount spent on car hire compared with the first quarter of last year, it said.
Overall, consumer spending remained steady, despite earlier fears of a slowdown.
Cardlytics said this was driven by a boom in eating out, with the amount spent in fast-food outlets rising by 18% year on year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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