In 2013, statistics showed that 717 film productions used Thailand as the site for film shooting.
Acting Second Lieutenant Arnupap Gaesornsuwan, Director General of the Department of Tourism, revealed that the abolishment of the Emergency Decree on March 19 as announced by the cabinet, would send a positive signal to foreign film crews who might have been hesitated in using Thailand as locations for their films. It is forecast that the number of permission requests will return to its normal trend, and improve further. The better situation is expected to bring about more revenue to the country as Thailand is still considered one of the popular location for the shooting of foreign films.
As of the end of 2013, Thailand Film Office has not envisaged any obstacles in granting permissions to foreign film crews as the law did not cause a friction to the operation of such film crews but some of them may have lost confidence fearing they would not be entitled to the promised convenience and comfort when settling in Thailand. However, after the abolishment of the Emergency Decree, the comfort, convenience, and confidence will be handed back to the foreign film crews.
“There has been no record on the number of cancellation or postponement of the foreign film crews. The cancellation or postponement could have been communicated by words of mouth through the department's foreign film crew co-ordinators, whose duty is to provide assistance to foreign film crews to request permission for filmshooting in Thailand. I strongly hope that the number of request will return to normal and go higher in time,” said Ms Ubolwan Sucharitakul, Director of Thailand Film Office Director.
In 2013, out of 717 titles of production in Thailand, India held the first rank of 150 titles, seconded by Japan with 140 titles. Films shot in Thailand were categorised into 356 promotional videos, 150 documentaries, 107 television series, 47 music videos, generating a financial circulation of 2.17 billion baht.
Another effort to regain awareness among the movie production industry in Thailand, the Thailand Film Office has undertaken a project to educate more film crew co-ordinators to assure that filmshooting activities in Thailand would go smoothly and efficiently.
The Director of Thailand Film Office reveals that the Department of Tourism has undertaken a project to educate more film crew co-ordinators. Their major roles are to provide assistances to foreign film crews who request permission for filmshooting in Thailand. This is to assure that filmshooting activities in Thailand would go smoothly and efficiently.
“According to 2013 statistics, the Department of Tourism had in hand a total of 269 film crew co-ordinators, of which 185 were registered companies and 84 were registered as individuals. This year, Thailand Film Office will add 71 more film crew co-ordinators to the list, making it a big increase of 26%. This is a positive trend which indicates that Thailand's film industry has been growing considerably,” she noted.
On the policy-making aspect, the Director General of the Department of Tourism, suggests that the department is well aware of the importance of foreign film crews as this type of service can benefit the economy in Thailand in a large scale. This service can provide additional revenue on top of the earning from conventional tourism.
To make permission request more efficient, the Department of Tourism has established a cooperation agreement with relevant organisations e.g. the Customs Department; Department of Employment; Department of Fine Arts; Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation; Bureau of the Royal Household, Airports of Thailand PLC, Foreign Film Production Executives Association, and the Thai Film Board, and make itself as a one-stop center for application of permission for film shooting.
“The Department of Tourism is continuously promoting and giving support to the film industry. We maintain an active program of roadshows abroad several times a year to publicise Thailand's potential and readiness as one of the world's best locations for filmshooting. The government is also lending a helping hand to create incentives to attract more foreign film producers into Thailand, for example, the provision of tax exemption for foreign movie stars who are featured in films shot in Thailand. And the Department of Tourism is working consistently to develop more incentives for international film producers in the future,” the Director General said.