THAILAND’S shopping temptations are too much for one-third of the country’s tourists, who say they are likely to bust their holiday budgets.
According to a study by BMRS Asia commissioned by Western Union that studied the spending patterns of tourists in Thailand, although 85 per cent of tourists to Thailand came with a budget in mind, 36 per cent say they are likely to exceed their budgets when in Thailand.
Specifically, visitors from North Asia – China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan – and those from the UK and France, admitted they were likely to overspend.
Meanwhile, tourists from Singapore, the Philippines, Australia and the US were more likely to keep to their budgets.
The survey found that the top three items accounting for 80 per cent of holiday expenditure were F&B (37 per cent), accommodation (25 per cent) and shopping for oneself (18 per cent).
While Asians, females and tourists above 34 years old ranked shopping for oneself as the number one item they blew money on, travellers under 34 ranked F&B higher on their list of expenses.
Most tourists to Thailand made purchases in cash, with 54 per cent of respondents stating they would use Thai baht to settle their bills. However, three out of four still carried at least one major credit card.
Less than three per cent said they would rely on travellers’ cheques or pre-loaded debit cards for holiday expenses.
The survey polled 300 FITs from 17 different countries who were visiting Bangkok and Pattaya on their spending and money management behaviour in Thailand.
