Barclays found spend growth in travel generally was up 28% year on year last month, with transaction value up 14%.

There was good news for travel agents, with spend growth up 32% and transaction value almost 39%. Airlines also saw a leap in spend, up 31.5%, although transaction value growth was smaller at 17%.

However, one piece of negative data for the travel industry was that 22% were scaling back Easter holiday plans due to cost of living pains.

The card provider’s data is based on Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card transactions. It relates to the period 21 January to 17 February 2023 compared with 22 January to 18 February 2022.

One anomaly was spend on hotels, resorts and accommodation - largely domestic - which fell 0.2%, recording only a 2.6% increase in transaction value. This is likely due to more foreign holidays being booked.

Barclays’ data showed travel bucking the general trend. It said: “Consumer card spending grew just 5.9% year-on-year in February, below the latest inflation rate of 8.8%, owing to a reduction in discretionary purchases amidst the ongoing cost of living squeeze.” 

It added this February’s growth rates were impacted by the lifting of Omicron restrictions last year, which caused a spike in spending, bringing down this year’s figures.

Overall, there is evidence cost of living will continue to affect spending patterns, with almost seven in 10 consumers saying they were looking for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop.

Almost half of shoppers were cutting down on luxuries or one-off treats for themselves, while a similar proportion are buying more budget or value ranges.

Silvia Ardagna, Barclays’ head of European economics research, said: “Persistent elevated inflation continues to take a toll on spending, as indicated by today’s figures, which could prolong the headwinds.”

She added Barclays expected the Bank of England to hike interest rates again this month to 4.25%.