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Travel spend on the rise
Spending on travel rose in three out of the first four months of the year, according to MasterCard Advisors.
Sarah Quinlan, group head and senior vice president at Mastercard Advisors, which provides professional services to Mastercard, said sales growth had been rising steadily throughout the early part of the 2014.
She said this was "a vast improvement" on 2013 overall.
In particular, the sunny weather and rising wages in April had a positive impact on the travel sector, added Quinlan.
"Travel businesses in the UK should be encouraged by the positive sales growth in April," she said.
"As the economy strengthens we would expect to see momentum build this year with consumers becoming confident to spend hard earned wages on summer holidays or short city breaks rather than saving everything for a rainy day."
However, she warned any increased travel expenditure would be gradual, as wages have shown only slow improvement and discretionary spending like travel was still a luxury for many.
Overall, retail sales were up 5.5% year-on-year in April.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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