Travelling has many advantages and offers you new opportunities. It’s a pleasure, it’s learning, it’s discovering, and it’s opening your mind to new places, customs and traditions. Europeans within the 25-55 age group are all too aware of this. Their main leisure expenditures are travel (17%), shopping (14%) and dining out (13%).
These are just some of the main conclusions drawn from the ‘Investment and fun. European spending on leisure’ study, which was based on the spending habits of N26 mobile bank’s 3.5 million customers.
Spaniards
In the case of Spain, the report shows that Spaniards between the ages of 25 and 55 spend most on eating out at restaurants, with travel in second place. In France, spending habits are similar, with travel being the second item of leisure expenditure, just ahead of fashion in third place.
In other countries like Austria, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and Italy, travel is the most common leisure expenditure among its population in this age range; while travel ranks third for Irish people in the same age group.
Gender differences also exist. European men spend more on travelling (17%), compared to 15% of women, who prefer to go shopping, and said it’s what they spend most of their money on (19%).
In the case of Spain, eating out at restaurants is where both men and women spend more money on leisure and entertainment. After food, Spanish men prefer to spend their money on trips, while for Spanish women in the same age group, travel drops to third place in spending priorities on leisure and entertainment.
Gen Z travel intentions
According to a recent study carried out by the leading digital travel platform booking.com, Europe’s Gen Z (those born after 1995) would rather prioritise travel and be careful about spending elsewhere. Gen Z Spaniards are the ones who show it most (48%), followed by British (47%), Belgians (46%) and Germans (46%).
67% of these young people have an enthusiastic attitude towards discovering new places. Spain’s Gen Z exceeds the European average by five points (72%), just behind the Belgians (74%).
The study also shows that Gen Z has a clear preference for travel: 60% believe travel is always worth investing in. In fact, 65% rank travel and seeing the world as most important when thinking about how they spend their money: Higher education and saving for a down payment on a house/property was ranked as most important by 60% of those who took part in the survey, while 51% said saving for retirement was top of their priorities.
How does Gen Z behave during their travels? 70% said they would prioritise spending money on experiences when away, 60% said they want to use more environmentally friendly means of transport once they have arrived at their destination and 33% said they prefer to be on their own when they travel.
