While the leisure tourism market continued to fluctuate the past four months, another segment stole the limelight based on consistent demand.
Taweesak Wanichcharoen, director-general of the Tourism Department, said international film crews had 93 projects shoot in Thailand from January to April this year, generating 1.01 billion baht. Of the total, 35 film productions took place in April alone.
The total last year was 122 international film crews, which contributed almost 5 billion baht to the local economy, according to the department. The top markets that generated the highest revenue were from the US, the UK, China, Singapore and Germany, respectively.
Mr Taweesak said revenue from international productions still has potential to reach 5-6 billion baht this year thanks to the improving viral situation and Thailand's reputation for being able to maintain safety protocols for shoots during the pandemic. The country also has standardised studios with high-quality local crews.
He said the cash rebate scheme, which offers film productions a 20% total rebate on expenses, plays a crucial role in luring investment. Productions with investment of more than 100 million baht can gain additional benefits until the end of this year.
Mr Taweesak said the department is working on improving outdated regulations to facilitate foreign film productions, such as the requirement that actors and crew take a blood test for syphilis. The department wants to work with the Labour Ministry to scrub this rule and already submitted a proposal to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration. An exemption of the foreign actor tax, which is 10% of income for filming in Thailand, is expected to start this year and awaits cabinet approval.