Majority of Thais have no travel plans for year-end
Survey finds that the main reason behind the decision to stay home during the year-end holidays is financial
Over 67% of Thais have not made any travel plans for the year-end holidays, mostly due to concern about their financial status and high travelling expenses, a survey has found.
The Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) conducted a survey in November among 5,669 citizens nationwide regarding their travel plans for November and December.
67.72% of respondents said they have no travel plans, with 38.55% saying they are concerned about their current financial status or problems. 32.12% of this group said they are concerned about high expenses during the high season of tourism.
32.28% of respondents said they have travel plans, which is roughly the same level as the survey result from last year.
32.19% of this group said they plan to visit the Northern region, thanks to the government’s tourism promotion campaigns.
51.48% said they are concerned about safety issues at tourist attractions and road accidents. Safety concerns this year have increased significantly from last year’s result, which came in at 30.85%.
50% of respondents are concerned about crowds, and 47.49% about traffic congestion.
In terms of tourism expenses, 44.59% of respondents said they plan to spend from 5,001-10,000 baht per person per trip at year end. The ratio of this bracket slightly increased from last year’s 42.07%.
31.79% said they plan to spend under 5,000 baht (versus 24.71% in the 2023 survey).
19.54% planned to spend from 10,001 to 30,000 baht (versus 30.02% in last year's survey).
“This year, fewer people are planning to spend a lot on year-end trips, indicating more budget-consciousness among domestic travellers, which can be blamed on the stagnant economy and increasing cost of living,” TPSO director Poonpong Naiyanapakorn said.
Poonpong however believed that domestic tourism in the last two months of 2024 will remain lively across all regions, thanks to government’s measures to stimulate tourism in both first- and second-tier provinces.
