Nakhon Ratchasima: A tourism association is pushing for the province to be developed as a "Bollywood-style" city to add to its appeal as a film production hub.
Somchai Chattharapattanasiri, chairman of the Nakhon Ratchasima Tourism Association, said the vision was to have a particular focus on Indian movies.
Speaking at a seminar targeting business opportunities from Indian tourists yesterday, he said a vast number of tourists from the subcontinent visited Thailand each year, although until now they mostly travelled to seaside provinces.
The northeastern region is not much known to Indian tourists and Mr Somchai said it was high time they became familiar with different attractions, including a film production hub that could rival Hollywood.
Producers would be provided incentives to invest in the ambitious project, which Mr Somchai hoped would draw more Indian tourists.
India is home to Bollywood, the dominant Hindi language film industry and Nakhon Ratchasima provides ideal locations for filming a wide array of films.
Mr Somchai said the province had many natural attractions as well as landmark historical and cultural sites.
He added that some Thai movies were also popular among a growing number of Indian viewers.
"If the movie production hub project materialised, the province would be on the map for Indian tourists," he said.