On June 1st and Pentecost, Romanians spent over 27 million lei on dining out and accommodation, and conducted 50% more electronic transactions than last year.

Global Payments, the largest provider of payment services and technology in the world, analyzed the value and number of electronic transactions made by Romanian consumers during the period of May 25th to June 5th, for the categories of restaurants, dining establishments, accommodation units, and travel agencies.

The data showed that they made payments exceeding the amount of 27.6 million lei and over 200 thousand transactions in the 10 days leading up to the June 1st and Pentecost holidays.

The payment and consumption trend gradually increased, with nearly 16 thousand transactions recorded on May 25th, amounting to 1.8 million lei, peaking at 3.17 million lei and over 20 thousand electronic transactions on June 4th, 2023. On June 5th, the number of transactions slightly decreased to 15.2 thousand transactions, totaling 2.3 million lei.

Most toys were purchased on June 1st, with 218 card payments amounting to 30 thousand lei. The day before, an additional 198 transactions were made, totaling 27 thousand lei. In total, during the analyzed 10 days, the budget for the mini-vacation was 155 times larger than the one for toys.

Last year, Romanians allocated 10 million lei less for accommodation and dining out during the same period. They spent only 17.7 million lei and made nearly 140 thousand card payments.

The value and number of electronic transactions were also influenced by the fact that in 2022, International Children's Day fell on a Wednesday, and Pentecost Sunday was 12 days later. Therefore, the mini-vacation was fragmented.

Romanians' appetite for mini-vacations was also evident around May 1st. This year, over 236 thousand electronic transactions were made, and over 28 million lei were spent on dining out and accommodation in the two weeks prior (April 17th - May 1st). Nearly twice as much as last year, when only 16 million lei was spent during the same period and for the same categories of interest.

But even more was spent on May 1st in grocery stores. On May 21st and 28th (Fridays) of this year, Romanians made over 200 thousand transactions at these retailers, amounting to 20 million lei. In fact, the top 10 largest daily budgets spent on May 1st were in supermarkets.