BANGKOK, 5 April 2012 – The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) has predicted that over 1 billion baht will come into circulation during the Songkran Festival, which is a new record high in six years, as a result of the minimum wage increase and the long holiday.
Director of the UTCC’s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting Thanawat Polwichai has disclosed the consumer behavior trends for the upcoming Thai New Year holiday, indicating that 57.7% have plans to travel. Among this group, 85.5% will be traveling to domestic destinations, whereas the remaining 14.5% plans to travel abroad. Additionally, the majority of those surveyed, or an equivalent of 69.7%, view that the festive mood during the approaching season will be as high as ever despite concerns about accidents, security and excessive product pricing.
It has been predicted that over 1.03 billion baht will be in circulation during the festive season, which is a 7.1% increase from last year’s and a new record high in six years. This increase has been contributed by the entry into force of the government’s minimum wage hike policy combined with the fact that it is a long holiday.
