International travel remains a high priority

New research from leading travel technology company Amadeus has found that people still want to travel despite uncertainty in the economy.

According to the Consumer Travel Spending Initiative survey, 42 percent of respondents from around the world say international travel is their top spending priority for the next year, ahead of fashion, dining out and big-ticket items like home improvement.

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The data shows that 32 percent of people consider domestic travel to be their top spending priority in the next 12 months, with online subscriptions (28 percent), dining out (27 percent) and fashion (25 percent) rounding out the top five responses.

“This research clearly shows that consumers are prepared to forgo spending in other areas of their lives to accommodate travel this year,” said David Doctor, executive vice president of Amadeus. “But this is not the end of the story. The industry needs to find ways in which fintech can make travel costs more transparent and help travelers take control of their spending.

On average, respondents expect to spend $2,670 on international travel in the next year, about how much they spent in 2019 (average $2,780). Many travelers plan to dip into already accumulated loyalty points to spread the cost across rooms and lighten the load.

Around 75 per cent of travelers said they would choose a ‘buy now’ payment option to fund their holiday in the coming year, with another 44 per cent more likely to use a credit card and 26 per cent using a payday loan.

“Demand for flexible payment options like Buy Now and Later on the Go is extremely high,” Dr. continued. “The industry is eager to meet this demand, but doing so in a responsible manner, with comprehensive risk management. Savvy travelers are practicing to limit their expenses while traveling. We see in our own data that many travelers are choosing to pay in local currency on their airlines using our FX Box technology.”

Another 47 percent of respondents said they plan to use the loyalty points they’ve earned to pay for their travel. Travelers are also embracing new fintech options and are 48 percent more likely to try prepaid debit cards to avoid FX fees involving multiple currencies when paying abroad.

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