KR-ECI hit 14-month high in November 2022, but remained below pre-COVID-19 levels. Most households have year-end gathering plans in place

• The KR-ECI and 3-month Expected KR-ECI increased to 35.0 and 36.4 in November 2022, from the 33.8 and 35.7 reported for October 2022 as inflation in Thailand grew at a slower rate for the third consecutive month. Additionally, households were upbeat about employment, thanks to steady recovery seen in tourism.
• Another survey conducted by KResearch on Thai households’ year-end gathering and travel plans shows that 38 percent of the respondents intend to organize parties for their friends and family members, while 23 percent do not have any plans to do so because they have already shouldered high expenditures, reflecting that elevated product prices continue to inhibit spending of some households. Moreover, 54 percent of the households surveyed expect to incur additional expenses over those seen in the previous month.  
• Tourism will be an important economic driver and in turn help improve living conditions of households, particularly at the end of 2022, which is the high season in Thailand. Meanwhile, close attention must be paid to the government’s economic stimulus measures as they are expected to be announced before the end of 2022 such as income tax deductions, and those aimed at stimulating spending and tourism. Looking into 2023, the Thai economy and households will likely be threatened by several risks, especially volatile energy prices that may affect related state subsidies, and the global economic downturn that may hurt Thai exports, which began to shrink in October 2022. The sluggish global economy may cause Thai tourism to recover at a slower rate than previously estimated. However, it might be supported by a higher number of Chinese tourist arrivals if China eases its outbound travel restrictions.