Over Bt150b cash circulations expected during New Year Festival in Thailand

BANGKOK, December 28 (TNA) - Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) has forecast that a total of over 150 billion baht of cash will be circulated in the Thai economy during the New Year Festival 2017, thanks partly to the government's tourism stimulus measures. UTCC President Saowanee Thairungroj told journalists on Wednesday that a recent survey on spending behaviours of the general public for New Year 2017, collected from a random samples of 1,200 people nationwide, found people in Bangkok have palnned to spend a total of about 63.91 billion baht, while people in provincial areas have planned to spend a total of 65.39 billion baht, resulting in a combined public spending of about 129.29 billion baht during the ongoing New Year Festival, a 3.4 per cent year-on-year increase. Saowanee said the survey also found that public spending per head on domestic tourism should be around 12,818 baht on average, whereas public spending per head on overseas travels should be around 65,357 baht on average, with most planning to travel by themselves. According to the UTCC president, if spending on the government's tourism stimulus measures is included, the amount of public spending should increase by about 20.77 billion baht, raising the amount of cash circulations for New Year 2017 in Thailand to over 150 billion baht. Meanwhile, Thanawat Phonvichai, Director of UTCC's Centre for Business and Economic Forecasting, predicted that the Thai economy should begin clearly recover by the end of the second quarter of 2017, boosted mainly by the government's investment in new mega-infrastructure development projects, coupled with more income distribution to provincial areas, the government's economic stimulus measures, increased minimum wage and growing private consumption. Thanawat projected that Thai exports should also begin growing by 1.4 per cent next year, stimulating the national economy to expand by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in 2017. (TNA)