UK spend on travel to reach £63.4bn in 2025: Visa
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UK spend on global travel is predicted to reach £63.4 billion in 2025, up 58% on 2015, according to a new report from Visa. On average, each UK household is set to spend £9,300 annually by 2025, up from £6,500 in 2015.
The study, conducted with Oxford Economics, looked at current travel patterns of Visa-branded cardholders across the globe combined with industry estimates and forecasts for travel. According to the study, the UK will rank as the second-biggest spenders on foreign travel in Europe by 2025, just slightly behind Germany, and the 4th globally.
Spend by older travellers is forecast to drive overall growth in the UK over the next decade. The number of outbound trips taken by over 65 year olds is set to grow at 6.5% annually between 2015 and 2025, compared with 3.8% for 35 – 64 year olds, and 1.3% for under 34 year olds.
Globally, estimated cross-border travel around the globe will rise dramatically to £979.9 billion in 2025. Roughly 282 million households will plan at least one international trip per year by 2025, up nearly 35% from 2015. By 2025, China is predicted to have the highest level of household spending in 2025, reaching £167.1 billion.
Travel spend amongst households with annual earning over £13,000 ranked by projected 2025 spend.
| Rank | Country | 2025 | Increase over 2015 |
| 1 | China | £167.1 billion | 86% |
| 2 | United States of America | £87.7 billion | 33% |
| 3 | Germany | £63.9 billion | 31% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | £63.4 billion | 58% |
| 5 | Russian Federation | £32.2 billion | 118% |
| 6 | Hong Kong, China | £31.0 billion | 78% |
| 7 | Singapore | £29.4 billion | 99% |
| 8 | France | £28.7 billion | 17% |
| 9 | Brazil | £24.7 billion | 106% |
| 10 | South Korea | £22.5 billion | 63% |
The study identified key drivers expected to impact global travel over the next decade, including a growing middle class globally, greater Internet connectivity and improved transportation infrastructure across many countries, and an aging global population with more time for leisure travel.
Kevin Jenkins, managing director UK & Ireland, Visa Europe, commented: “Britons’ love of travelling shows no signs of abating. In the next decade we’ll see an expanding travelling class that will spend a growing portion of their household income on international travel.
“More foreign trips mean more decisions to make on spending money overseas. Using a card at home is a familiar daily ritual and more people begin to realise, through experience, that card payments and ATM withdrawals abroad are not only convenient, but easily available and safe. Wherever the foreign destination, paying can remain just as familiar.”
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