Outpayce, a wholly-owned Amadeus company, has shared its second edition of the Consumer Travel Spend Priorities research which reveals that consumer demand for travel is expected to remain robust over the coming twelve months, despite continuing economic uncertainty.

The research surveyed 4,500 travellers from the US, the UK, France, Germany and Singapore during 2Q2023 using an online methodology by international market research firm Opinium on behalf of Outpayce from Amadeus.

International travel was once again ranked by consumers as the highest discretionary spend priority from a basket of six categories.

All spend categories edged up compared to last year’s study pointing to a tentative jump in overall consumer confidence. However, the number of people ranking travel as a ‘high priority’ for the coming twelve months increased by the largest margin, rising to 47%, up 12% year-over-year. Travellers expect to spend significantly more on international travel during the coming year with average expected spend of US$3,422, an increase of US$753 per consumer, or 28%, compared to last year.

Jean-Christophe Lacour, senior vice president, global head of products management and delivery, Outpayce, Amadeus commented: “People are clearly prepared to spend savings that may have been amassed during the pandemic, and to make sacrifices in other areas, to dedicate more funds to international travel. (However), there’s no room for complacency – travel companies that clearly price their products in the traveller’s native currency, offer flexible ways to pay, and focus on delivering a smooth retail experience stand the best chance of converting shoppers into paying customers.”

Moderation in demand for short-term credit
Last year a huge 75% of consumers said they were ‘more likely’ to use Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to fund travel. This number dropped to a still significant 33% of travellers being ‘more likely’ to choose BNPL to fund travel over the coming twelve months, suggesting continued demand for BNPL, albeit at a reduced growth rate. This trend is evident across all forms of short-term credit with significantly fewer consumers saying they are ‘more likely’ to use credit cards or payday loans to fund travel this year.

Instead, 40% of consumers said they plan to pay for travel by dipping into their savings and a third confirmed they will reallocate spend from areas like clothing and home improvement to fund travel plans.

Transparency and limits fees
Travellers continue to value fintech services that offer transparency and help them avoid foreign exchange (FX) fees when travelling. Notably, 66% of travellers said they would be more likely to select a travel company that allowed them to pay in their own currency so they could better understand the cost of travel, which reflects a notable jump of 18% compared to last year. 68% of respondents said they will pay close attention to FX fees incurred when traveling.

The Consumer travel spend priorities can be downloaded here.