Bankwest’s August Spend Trends analysis has highlighted the hike in travel costs facing Western Australians heading abroad, with the year-on-year growth in airline transaction value almost doubling that of volume.
Bankwest looked at WA customer credit and debit transactions for August and tracked month-on-month and year-on-year spending trends to provide insights into the community’s response to changing economic conditions.
Among the most significant shifts were the key sectors linked to the travel industry, with year-on-year spending value significantly outpacing the growth in volume for Airlines, Travel Agencies, and Hotels/Motels.
Western Australian spending on travel appears to have stabilised, however, it has done so at a significantly higher cost to travellers, with the year-on-year growth in Airline spending value (502%) almost double the volume (261%).
It was a similar result for transactions at Travel Agencies, which grew in value by 326 per cent in the 12 months from August 2021, while volume increased at the slower rate of 149 per cent.
And, while Hotels/Motels did not shift at the extremes of Airlines and Travel Agencies, the sector’s trend highlighted the cost increases, with transaction volumes declining (-4%) year-on-year, but values spiking (22%).
The ongoing impact of the cost of petrol was also laid bare, with year-on-year figures showing transaction volumes stable (0%), but the value of those transactions having increased by 13 per cent.
Fuel costs were also impacting the price burden to private and public transport users, with Other Transport relatively flat in year-on-year volume growth (2%) but having increased in the value of spend by 23 per cent.
The winter flu season and the health approach of living with COVID in the community resulted in Pharmacies growing by eight per cent in volume and 10 per cent in value compared to last year’s winter August period.
And inflationary pressures continued to bite, with year-on-year value growth outpacing volume across multiple sectors, including Food Stores/Warehouses (12%; 6%), Clothing Stores (4%;13%), and Restaurants/Bars (14%; 6%).
Bankwest General Manager Everyday Banking Philippa Costanzo said: “Western Australians have been incredibly resilient over the past few years of uncertainty and are being challenged again by the current economic climate.
“The impact of inflation on costs-of-living has combined with supply chain challenges to have Western Australians paying more for the same – or, in some cases, less.
“The travel sector is further compounded by the laws of supply-and-demand, as it rebounds from a disastrous period of turnover, to what the data shows is a significant outpacing of transaction value compared to volume.
“All of that equates to financial pressures on Western Australians and we know some people are finding this period challenging, so we encourage customers who think they might require support to get in touch as early as possible.
“We believe challenging economic times are here to stay for a while, and people might benefit from spending some time reviewing their finances and ensuring they have plans in place to be in the best possible position.”
