Thais plan to travel near and far during Songkran

The opinion poll by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce – which was completed the day after the bombings in Hat Yai – also found that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was the person Thais want to pay homage to the most over Songkran. Her ranking was followed by former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva and outspoken MP Chuwit Kamolvisit.

This year’s festive season will be the most lavish since 2007, with spending surpassing the Bt100-billion mark for the first time, the poll suggests. Songkran expenditure is predicted to increase 7.1 per cent to Bt103.34 billion from Bt96.49 million last year.

Of the respondents, 57.7 per cent have already made plans to travel from April 6-16, but overseas trips have become more popular. Travelling abroad will increase to 14.5 per cent, which would beat the record in the past four years of 7.8 per cent. At the same time, travelling in the country will drop from 92.2 per cent last year to 85.5 per cent this year.

Holidaymakers expect to visit more natural attractions, focusing on mountains rather than the seashore.

Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the university’s Economic and Business Forecasting Centre, said yesterday that consumer behaviour had changed this year to spending more on parties and booze, which ranked tops in the survey.

People may want to relax and enjoy themselves after having a hard time during the flood crisis last year. This month’s rise in the minimum wage to Bt300 has also boosted their expectations of purchasing power, while greater confidence in the economy has encouraged them to take longer vacations.

People are cutting back on their purchases of consumer goods and necessities mainly because of rising prices, and using their money for merit-making.

People believe that the new minimum wage will not only increase their income but also the prices of goods. They want the government to monitor prices closely and intervene sometimes.

They also think the government’s Raan Thook Jai project, which has been launched to sell cheap goods, will defray some of the rise in the cost of living but not all.

Violence in the South has not hurt the overall tourism industry but only in that one region.

"The centre is worried about inflation growing so fast. It has now reached 2.8 per cent but is targeted by the Bank of Thailand at 3 per cent. This factor will directly pressure the cost of living and [central bank] policy rate. The minimum-wage increase will also affect the prices of goods in the second half of this year," Thanavath said.

The survey was conducted from March 27 to April 1 on 1,184 respondents.