Finnish households spend 1,600 euros on holiday
21.6.2006More than half of Finnish households have made plans for their summer holiday. On average, the households plan to spend 1,600 euros on their holiday, according to a Nordic survey conducted by Nordea at the end of May. More than 1,000 Finns were interviewed in the survey.
The majority of Finnish households plan to spend their holiday in Finland. Every tenth household is planning to travel in the other Nordic countries and nearly every third household in other European countries. Finns travel abroad distinctly less often than people in the other Nordic countries.
A relaxing and safe holiday
When choosing the place for the holiday, the most important thing for Finns is to have a relaxing and pleasant time. The second most important criterion seems to be safety; especially families with children value it highly. For Finns weather is not as important a factor as for the households in the other Nordic countries.
- The financial situation is more important to those respondents who have small children in their households. Families with children make their holiday plans well in advance more often than other households. The children's wishes and opinions surely contribute to this as well, says Tarja Svartström, Nordea's Private Economist.
It is mostly the available assets that are used for paying for the holiday. Those who travel abroad have saved for the holiday more often than those who spend their holiday in Finland. Saving for the holiday is primarily irregular, meaning that money is saved whenever it is possible.
Every third household travelling abroad draws up a travel budget. Nearly half of them usually exceed it, mainly because of shopping and restaurant visits. - If saving was more systematic, it could be easier to gather the holiday budget. If you draw up a budget well before the holiday, you can think of more relaxing things than money when you are on holiday. Even afterwards it will be nicer when you do not have to worry about a surprise bill because of the holiday, says Svartström.
Finns trust in cash
Finns use a lot of cash they take with them abroad. More than 60% take cash with them from Finland. This is significantly more common than in the other Nordic countries. - Even though safety is important when choosing the place for the holiday, it is always possible to lose the cash. It is worthwhile to remember that cards are a good option if you adhere to safety instructions. It is also relatively easy to withdraw cash abroad with a credit card, says Svartström. At the same time she reminds that it is advisable to memorise the PIN code since it is common to be required to key it in when paying with a chip card abroad.
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Tarja Svartström
Private Economist
