Thailand earns over 88 million USD from foreign film production

BANGKOK: Thailand's foreign film production incentives have generated over 2.87 billion baht (about 88.32 million US dollars) in revenue in the 2024 fiscal year, official data showed on Thursday.

According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), 15 international films have benefited from the cash rebate incentive programme during the fiscal year ending in September, creating more than 43,000 jobs across the Southeast Asian country's film and related industries.

In 2017, Thailand introduced its cash rebate incentive program, which allows filmmakers that spend at least 50 million baht (about 1.53 million dollars) in the kingdom to receive up to 20 percent in rebates, with a cap of 150 million baht (about 4.61 million dollars) per production.

DOT Director-General Jaturon Phakdeewanit said that over 22 additional film and television productions have applied for the rebate, with projections indicating that these large-scale productions could bring in over 7.05 billion baht (about 217 million dollars) in revenue, underscoring Thailand's growing reputation as a major hub for international film production in the region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thailand remains committed to enhancing the nation's competitive edge in the global film industry, boosting the local economy, generating employment and promoting its cultural heritage and tourist destinations to a global audience, Jaturon said in a statement.