The government is intensifying its promotion of the country's soft power initiatives by playing host to e-sporting events and creating incentives for foreign film productions in the kingdom, according to deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has stressed the promotion of soft power by capitalising on the country's architectural designs, performing arts, films, sports, and music, she said.
Such soft power initiatives will express Thai-ness which makes them competitive while generating revenue. A successful example is the Tourism and Sports Ministry's patent of the world-class jet ski tournament, the WPG#1 World Series, which has been organised in Europe and North America.
Through the tournaments, the country's highlights were publicised while the events drew more than 3,000 participants and fans from 54 countries. The tournaments have raked in more than 700 million baht per year in revenue.
Ms Rachada said Gen Prayut has assigned the Tourism and Sports Ministry and the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry to jointly work on turning Thai-based e-sports (video games) into soft power initiatives. This will be done by organising e-sport contests and supporting the developments of the industry.
In addition, incentives have been launched to attract more foreign filmmakers to shoot their films in Thailand.
The deputy spokeswoman said a film crew spending more than 50 million baht in Thailand is entitled to a 15% rebate, plus other benefits gained from hiring Thais as their key production personnel, promoting the Thai culture and filming in locations in non-mainstream provinces.
Ms Rachada added a further benefit will be granted if filming in Thailand is done before the end of the year.