Sunday is the first day of the Year of the Pig.

KResearch conducted a qualitative poll on Chinese New Year activities and the spending behaviour of Chinese-Thai Bangkok residents earlier this month using a sampling group of 608 people aged 15 and older and covering all occupations and income levels.

Most respondents - 62.9 per cent - said the re-emergence of bird flu would not effect their purchases of ceremonial items. As a result, chicken comes first among the most sought-after items, followed by pork and duck, fruit, sweets, joss paper, candles and incense.

Among the most-preferred venues for shopping for ceremonial items are outdoor markets near home, shops in the old Yaowarat Market and modern trade outlets like supermarkets and superstores.

The amount to be spent on ceremonial items is expected to total Bt4.4 billion, slightly above last year's Bt4.3 billion.

The survey found 53.9 per cent of respondents claiming they would set aside a larger budget for giving ang pao, or lucky money, than they did last year. Of these, 90.4 per cent planned to give cash as ang pao and more than 60 per cent of recipients will be children who have not yet started working, followed by senior-citizen relatives and employees.

Although average planned ang pao expenditure is close to last year's figure, a rising number of ang pao givers is expected to lift total lucky-money expenditure to Bt6.4 billion.

A big majority of respondents - 85.9 per cent - said they would stay in Bangkok for the celebration, with most of these visiting temples and shrines, while others plan to dine out, go shopping or attend a film. In the process, they will spend an estimated Bt2.2 billion, slightly more than they spent last year, providing a festive windfall for businesses in the capital.

The poll found that only 14.1 per cent of respondents planned to travel upcountry during the Chinese New Year celebration, fewer than last year. The most popular destinations are the seaside (Pattaya, Bang Saen, Cha-am or Hua Hin), the central region (Nakhon Pathom, Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Saraburi and Chachoengsao) and more distant centres that feature Chinese New Year festivals (Chiang Mai, Phuket, Nakhon Sawan, Hat Yai and Udon Thani).

Although average planned spending for upcountry travel is expected to be slightly higher than it was last year, the smaller number of travellers will result in a fall in total domestic travel spending, to about Bt1.8 billion.

The survey found there was not much international travel planned this Chinese New Year and estimated that total expenditure on foreign trips would be only Bt800 million.

Earlier this week, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce released results of a similar survey, saying consumers throughout the country - rather than just Bangkok residents - were expected to spend Bt31.8 billion during Chinese New Year, up 7.8 per cent from last year's Bt29.5 billion.

The university said the increase was markedly lower than the 10.25-per-cent jump in spending registered last year, and its survey found consumers would spend less because of rising prices and out of concern for the country's economic condition.

In contrast to the KResearch poll result, the university poll found that people would buy less poultry this year, because of bird flu, going for pork and fish instead.