According to Nordea's research, Finns plan to spend more on their summer holidays this year than a year ago. Finnish households indicated that they will spend an average of 1,495 euros this summer, whereas last year they planned to spend an average of 1,406 euros.
Residents of the Capital Area will have the biggest budget at 1,825 euros. In Eastern Finland the average summer holiday budget will be 1,237 euros, and in Western Finland 1,390 euros. Both figures have increased from the previous year, when they were 1,185 euros and 1,160 euros, respectively.
The summer budget in Northern Finland has decreased to 1,258 euros, compared to 1,460 euros last year.
The holiday budget is now bigger than in recent years. Finns had their highest holiday budget, 1,600 euros, in 2006 and 2009, as indicated by Nordea's annual survey measuring summer holiday spending plans.
Salary used to pay for holiday
Two out of three indicated that they will finance their holiday with their salary. Almost half of all respondents said they were saving for their holidays.
- This is good news. Only one per cent of respondents intend to take a loan to pay for their holiday, and only one in ten will pay for it with their credit card. This result reflects Finns' sensible attitude to managing their finances, says Jari Ohrankämmen Nordea’s Wealth Management.
Saving is the most economical way to prepare for extra expenses during one's holiday. Good forms of saving for a holiday include saving in an account or in a low-risk fund.
- A good way of preparing for all kinds of extra expenses is to divide saving between three different goals, which are reserve cash, long-term saving and saving for retirement. Reserve cash can be withdrawn quickly to finance a holiday or other fairly small expenses. In long-term saving, you can aim for higher yields by investing your assets in the equity market, for example, says Jari Ohrankämmen.
Families with children and people with high income are the biggest consumers
Families with children will have a holiday budget around 300 euros above the average in Finland. Families estimate they will spend 1,778 euros on their holidays.
The respondents' income and age were also a factor, as the largest holiday budgets were reported by households earning more than 65,000 euros (2,274 euros) and people aged 40 to 54 (1,708 euros).
On a commission by Nordea, TNS Gallup surveyed holiday spending in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway using Internet panels. The research material was collected between 29 April and 12 May 2013. A total of 1,170 people aged between 18 and 65 were interviewed for the survey.
For further information:
Anni Kuusisto, Chief Press Officer, +358 9 165 42320
Jari Ohrankämmen, Wealth Management, +358 9 165 48101