More people are expected to travel during the long Songkran holidays this year than last, but they will be more cautious in their spending, due to the higher cost of living and indebtedness, according to an opinion survey conducted by the Economic and Business Forecast Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

The centre gauged the opinions of 1,280 people in various occupations from March 25^th to 30^th.

66% of the respondents said they intend to celebrate the Songkran festival by merit making, 42% by paying respects to senior citizens or relatives, 41.6% by splashing water at one another and 39.2% at parties.

51.2% of the respondents said they will travel, but mostly within their respective provinces, 26% said they will stay home, 10.6% said they will travel to other provinces.

The most popular domestic tourist destinations are Chon Buri, Ayutthaya, Rayong, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Bangkok. Average domestic travel spending per head is estimated at 6,425 baht, while average foreign travel spending is estimated at 40,129 baht per head.

It is estimated that spending by foreign tourists and locals during the festival period this month will be between 140 billion and 200 billion baht, said Thanawat Pholvichai, advisor to the forecast centre and rector of the university.

Road accidents during domestic travel are an issue of concern for most travelers, said Thanawat.

All in all, he said Songkran this year is likely to be livelier and festive events are expected to generate increased spending. In April alone, about 3.2 million foreign tourists are expected to visit Thailand.

He estimated that the Songkran festival will stimulate economic growth by 2.01 to 2.50%.

Dubbed the “Maha Songkran festival”, celebrations this year are to be held throughout the country over 21 days, but especially from especially from April 12^th through 16^th.