What you need to know
Overseas expenditure on holidays is rising year-on-year and is expected to grow 16% by 2020, thanks to the positive outlook for the holiday market in general, and a shift in consumer preferences away from domestic holidays and towards overseas travel. Foreign currency remains the most popular method for spending abroad, and most people obtain at least some of their currency before leaving for their destination. However, the number using credit or debit cards is growing over time, which will increase the percentage of consumers who obtain their travel money at their destination. This will prove a challenge to the pre-holiday travel money market in the long run.
Although there have been a number of launches of prepaid cards over the last year, usage remains fairly low at 11%, despite awareness of the product being high. A brand’s reputation is a key factor in financial services and some of the more innovative prepaid card products are from newer market entrants, limiting their impact overall. For consumers, fees and charges remain an important factor and many holidaymakers will make the effort to get the best deal for their money.
Definitions and report scope
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
This report looks at the travel money market in the UK, including:
foreign currency
travellers’ cheques
prepaid cards services
use of domestic debit cards abroad for travel money purposes
use of domestic credit cards abroad for travel money purposes
The sectors covered in this report include any purpose of overseas travel including holidays, business travel and visits to friends and relatives abroad, although the consumer questions relate purely to holiday travel.
