Bangkok – The Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) has estimated that 132 billion baht will be circulated in the economy during this Songkran holiday, up 3.5 percent year-on-year.
The Director of the Economic and Business Forecasting Centre at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), Thanawat Polvichai, said a survey was conducted and questioned 1,222 respondents ahead of the Songkran festival. The survey found that about 80 percent of all respondents plan to travel within Thailand this holiday period. The expected spending is set to see a 3.5-percent rise from a year ago.
Thanavat said that this forecast amount is the highest recorded during the Songkran festival in 13 years, partly due to this year’s long holiday of five to six days that allow people to travel and spend more. However, he noted that economic growth in Thailand is not yet broad-based as farm product prices remains low and the government has not yet successfully addressed it.
