Family, food remain focus of spending
WITH lower budgets for the Lunar New Year celebrations, Thais will focus their spending on family and food this year, a survey indicates.
The annual United Overseas Bank (UOB) (Thai) Lunar New Year survey was based on interviews with 500 people aged between 18 and 55 in November and December.
The survey revealed that the respondents expect to spend an average of 21 per cent less on Chinese New Year festivities than they did last year. Travel and shopping would be the main areas where Thais would economise this year, down 35 per cent and 45 per cent respectively, while food and red packets saw the smallest decline (down 6 per cent and 13 per cent respectively).
Almost Bt7,000, or 23 per cent of respondents’ average total budget of Bt29,400, will be spent on the tradition of giving red packets to family and friends. The respondents said they would give their parents and parents-in-law the highest amounts in their red packets this year, at Bt5,448 and Bt3,732 on average respectively. They said they planned to spend a further Bt5,300 on food – nearly half of which would be used for traditional family reunion dinners.
