Hotel, bar and restaurant spend growth slows in August
Hotels, bars and restaurants saw slower increases in consumer spending in August.
That's according to the latest UK Consumer Spending Index from Visa, released today, which reflects overall spending, and not just that on cards.
Overall, it showed that UK consumer spending flattened in August, rising just 0.1% year-on-year.
Hotels, restaurants and bars enjoyed a +4.3% year-on-year spending increase during the period, but this represented a slower rate of growth, Visa said.
Kevin Jenkins, UK & Ireland managing director at Visa said: "August saw the smallest increase in consumer spending for almost three years at just 0.1% on the year, continuing the trend of modest growth rates we've seen across most of 2016. The high street in particular had a difficult month, with spending down 2.8% on August 2015.
"There's a mixed picture across the spend categories with some seeing increased expenditure in August, albeit at rates of expansion that are slower than in previous months. In line with reports that people opted for UK staycations over last-minute overseas trips in August, leisure and recreation remained the strongest performers, with transport and communications - the category that captures flight bookings - experiencing a significant fall. Meanwhile, after a strong July (+3.8%), clothing retailers saw a (-2.6%) fall in spend on the year, extending an inconsistent year for the sector."
Commenting on the figures, Josh Beer, of the Illustrious Pub Company, Cambridgeshire said: "August wasn't as busy for us, but this was expected. We had fewer corporate catering requests, as many people were out of the office on holiday. Although we spotted more people out and about as the weather warmed up, we didn't necessarily find that the heatwave led to more spend at our pubs. Towards the end of the month spend did pick up, as we benefitted from a bank holiday boost. And now that people are returning to work we're already starting to receive Christmas party enquiries, so we expect that this lull will be short-lived."
Visa's figures for August contrasted with those released last week by Barclaycard, which reported double-digit spending growth in August as overall consumer spending hit a 13-month high. Barclaycard recorded a 14.9% year-on-year increase in hotel spending in August, with spending in pubs and restaurants rising by 13.3% and 12.7% respectively.
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