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Published on March 12, 2008

Cardholders spent Bt515 million on their credit cards in foreign countries in January, up 24 per cent year on year and 11 per cent month on month.

A source at the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said the baht's appreciation had strengthened the purchasing power of Thai tourists in foreign-currency terms, because they paid fewer baht for the same number of US dollars. The spending jump coincided with an increase in the number of outbound tourists, which reached 305,000 in January, up 3 per cent year on year.

"The number of Thai outbound tourists showed an upward trend, rising 8,000 people from January 2007. This is a result of cheaper foreign-exchange currencies, in baht terms," the source said.

The baht has appreciated 7 per cent against the dollar since January 2007, leading to a dramatic hike in credit-card spending abroad. The BOT said the 24-per-cent growth in external spending via plastic cards was higher than growth in overall credit-card spending of 12.25 per cent in January. Domestic spending via the cards expanded 13.8 per cent, while cash withdrawals rose 6.5 per cent.

The BOT source said cut-throat competition in the tourism industry had also encouraged Thais to travel abroad. Companies are offering a variety of cheaper tourism packages, some of them with shorter day trips.

The central bank said spending via credit cards issued by Thai and foreign banks escalated 28 per cent year on year in January, while spending on credit cards issued by non-bank companies rose 17.3 per cent.

Total outstanding credit-card loans in January amounted to Bt176 billion, expanding only 4.25 per cent. This indicated that cardholders were repaying their debts early rather than leaving them as loans.

Anoma Srisukkasem

The Nation