Most consumers are unlikely to splurge on travel in the coming six months
October 4th, 2023, Bhavika Bansal

Most consumers are unlikely to splurge on travel in the coming six months

Recent research by YouGov into travel priorities and values for 2023 reveals that 35% of global consumers say that travel has become more important since the pandemic. Not only that, but travelers are seeking more meaningful and transformative experiences that cater to their physical, mental and emotional needs. However, does this desire also translate into willingness to spend more on air travel and hotels?

A new YouGov Surveys: Serviced poll of consumers across 18 international markets reveals that less than a fifth of the consumers we polled globally (18%) say that they expect to spend more on air travel and hotels than they did over the past six months.

While groceries (46%) top the list of areas where consumers expect to spend more over the next six months, furniture (10%), streaming subscriptions (8%) and video games (6%) round out the bottom of the list.

A closer look at consumers across markets who indicate that they expect to spend more on travel reveals further nuances.

Outliers in the APAC region, Singapore (34%) and Hong Kong (31%) have the largest proportion of consumers – almost twice as many as the international market average - who expect to spend more on air travel and hotels now than they have in the past six months. On the other hand, only a tenth of consumers in Indonesia (10%) say the same.

A little more than a quarter of consumers in the UAE (26%) say they expect their travel spending to increase over the next six months.

While one in five of our respondents in Canada and Mexico (19%) share a similar opinion, just 13% of Americans feel the same way.

Our polled European markets display similarly disparate views. While a fifth of consumers in some markets expect to spend more on air travel and hotels over the next six months (Italy, 20%; Spain, 19%; Denmark, 18%), this proportion falls considerably when it comes to the German, Polish, and French markets (13%, 12% and 9%, respectively).

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 509 and 2,003 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in July 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.