Written by Joe Jackson on May 26, 2022. Posted in General Interest

Thailand’s production services industry achieves record results

Thailand’s government has announced that the country’s production services industry achieved record results last year. Despite complications created by the global pandemic, the country’s revenue from international production services exceeded EUR132 million for the first time. Government officials revealed this news at Cannes Film Festival’s Thai Pavilion.

“It is an extraordinary achievement that Thailand was able to set a new record for international productions - and to do so with on-set and testing protocols that kept the productions safe from COVID-19,” emphasised Chote Trachu, Permanent Secretary from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Photo credit: Florian Wehde

Trachu also affirmed the government’s commitment to the incentives, praising the resilience of Thai crews and their ability to adapt to the new working practices that were required by the pandemic protocols.

Thailand has grown into a popular shooting destination for a plethora of audiovisual projects, including: international films, television programs, commercials and documentaries.  In 2007, twenty-two feature films visited Thailand and spent just over EUR27 million. However, by 2019, the totals had risen to sixty feature films and spending worth just over EUR130 million. Analysts anticipated that the numbers would continue to increase in 2020, yet the pandemic generated unexpected challenges.

Photo credit: Thai Jirapon

In response the Thai government acted swiftly, establishing a robust and practical set of safety protocols that would allow production to continue in the country. Major projects that chose to visit the country during the pandemic include Disney’s Ms Marvel and Shantaram from Apple Studios.

High-level productions were also encouraged to return thanks to a 5% boost to national film incentive, whereby projects with a budget exceeding EUR2.7 million could qualify for a 20% cash rebate.

Meanwhile, the Phuket ‘sandbox’ scheme enabled visitors to quarantine on the island of Phuket. Consequently, the initiative has created an increase in productions choosing Phuket as their base. While Phuket is of course a popular tourist destination, the island has now established itself as a film-friendly destination.