During Songkran this year, people will enjoy five consecutive days off on April 13-17, 2011 (including Saturday and Sunday). For those who take additional leave, they will have up to 9-12 holidays during this festival. Long holidays and a peaceful political environment without the unrest as seen during 2009-2010, as well as cooperation between the government and private sectors to arrange festivities across the country should help boost tourism in Thailand during the festival to be more active than in previous years.
KResearch conducted a survey on ‘Bangkok Resident's Participation in Songkran 2011'[1], around March 16-31, 2011, using a sampling group of 505 persons aged between15-65 to investigate the factors affecting or encouraging their participation in this festivity, which would reflect the turnover circulating to relevant businesses. The survey found that Bangkok residents largely expressed concern about the economy, followed by anxiety toward fuel prices and the political situation this year. This differs somewhat from their concerns on a domestic politics during the past year.
During this Songkran, more Bangkok residents may travel upcountry. Many will return to their hometowns while others may visit provincial areas and foreign countries respectively. Meanwhile, the number of Bangkok residents staying in Bangkok during this festival tends to decrease and they will likely engage in numerous activities, including one-day trips within Bangkok and/or neighboring provinces.
During this Songkran, KResearch expects that activities of Bangkok residents will generate around THB25 billion for relevant businesses, growing 4 percent YoY. Their spending will go to parties, travel, merit-making, ceremony of “Rod-Nam-Dam-Hua” (pouring water over elders' hands to seek their blessings) as well as buying gifts for relatives upcountry and local souvenirs for relatives and friends in Bangkok. It is expected that THB4 billion out of the said spending will likely be spent on travel abroad.
[1] According to demographic statistics based on the registration of residential inhabitants by the Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior, it was found that there are 4.1 million Bangkok residents aged between 15-65.
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