The card provider said international travel “has been more heavily impacted by rising costs”, with travel agent transactions down 5% and airlines seeing a 2.6% fall.
However, Barclaycard said this was “possibly due to holidaymakers booking breaks earlier in the year and those booking last-minute trips choosing to cut back on getaways abroad”.
Barclaycard said domestic travel had performed strongly, with summer stays boosting hotels, resorts and accommodation by 4.1% month-on-month in August.
Overall, consumer card spending grew 4.7% year on year in August, the smallest uplift since March 2021. However, it declined 1.9% month on month. Rising living costs hampered the retail sector, with spending on utilities increasing year on year by 45.2%.
Barclaycard said: “Concerningly, 28% feel their personal finances are currently not sufficient to cover their energy costs, and looking ahead, this rises to 39% when factoring in the upcoming energy price rise in October.”
It added that despite the challenging outlook, 60% of consumers remain confident in their household finances, albeit down on last month’s 66%. It said 26% had made changes to spending behaviour to offset rising costs in preparation for the months ahead.
Jose Carvalho, Barclaycard head of consumer products, said: “The cost of living is clearly leading Brits to cut back on some non-essential purchases to ensure they can afford the increasing costs of their weekly grocery shop and household utility bills.
"Yet, despite these inflationary pressures, consumers have still been keen to enjoy the summer weather by eating and drinking out and going on staycations with friends and family.
“However, an energy price rise on the horizon means the majority are understandably very concerned about whether their finances can stretch far enough to afford rising household bills.
“Many Brits plan to continue cutting back on their discretionary spending during the autumn and winter, while adopting a resourceful approach to saving money in order to weather a challenging period ahead.”
