Infographic:Holiday spending!
【明報專訊】The purse shrinks while Christmas approaches. People tend to spend more on holidays. Some exchange gifts with their friends, some consume more in restaurants and food. Do you have a holiday spending pattern?
◆What is the top-spending holiday in Hong Kong?
Christmas! According to statistics from Visa, the credit card company, 18.5% of our total holiday spending went to Christmas while 18% of it went to Chinese New Year in 2019. Do you or your friends spend much on Christmas?
◆Where is the money spent?
14% of the total holiday spending went to general retail. Unsurprisingly, 12% of it went to restaurants while 9% went to food and grocery. Christmas meals are always costly but delicious!
◆How much do we spend during Christmas?
$825 per transaction! The average spend per transaction was $825 during Christmas last year. With the festive mood and cooling weather, people tend to spend more!
◆What is the top holiday destination by spending?
Macau! Although Hong Kong people like travelling a lot, 20% of the total holiday spending went to Macau, our proximate neighbour. 18% went to Japan. Taiwan came third, with 6% of total holiday spending.
◆Interesting facts
People take an average of 82 days ahead to purchase airfare, and 89 days ahead to book for accommodation. That means most people will book their air tickets on 3 October if they plan to leave on Christmas Eve.
◆Tips
Do not overspend!
Although shopping may be enjoyable, always keep track of your financial account before you do any transactions. Do not overspend and buy unnecessary items!
■Glossary
transaction (n) 交易
festive (adj) 喜慶的
proximate (adj) 接近的
retail (n) 零售
[Smarties' Power English 第297期]