Rising spending on long holidays for start of Buddhist Lent anticipated in Thailand

BANGKOK, July 19 (TNA) - The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, under Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, has projected that people's spending in Thailand on long holidays marking the start of the three-month Buddhist Lent 2018 should increase by about 4 per cent year-on-year. The center's director, Thanawat Phonvichai, told journalists on Thursday his center's recent survey found that people's spending on the upcoming long holidays for the start of Buddhist Lent 2018, during July 27-30, should reach about 6.48 billion baht totally, an increase by about 4.1 per cent year-on-year. Thanawat said most people in the recent survey were found planning their trips and merit making activities during the upcoming long holidays. Thanawat revealed that the majority of surveyed samples would spend their salaries on the upcoming long holidays for their planned tours, as well as alms offering to Buddhist monks, or charitable donations or other kinds of merit making in a higher proportion than last year's, reflecting the continual recovery of the Thai economy. The senior economist noted that people in Bangkok and adjacent provinces have planned their spending on the upcoming long holidays more clearly than those in other provinces, where farm produce prices are the main source or their income, rather than monthly salaries. According to the senior official, his center plans to release, by next month, a report on its revised projection of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year upwards, expected to 4.5-5 per cent year-on-year on average, from 4.2-4.6 per cent year-on-year on average earlier forecast, taking such risk factors as impacts from the ongoing trade war between the United States and major trading partners and from a tragic boat incident in Phuket Province in the Thai South recently into consideration. (TNA)