Thailand plans to turn Pattaya into regional cinema hub

NDO - Pattaya, located in Chon Buri province, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand, has long been famous worldwide as one of Thailand's top coastal resorts. With the available natural advantages, the Thai government is promoting a series of policies to turn Pattaya into a "cinema city", contributing to further promoting the country's "soft power" development strategy.

Great potential to become a “cinema city”

Once a small coastal village, Pattaya has now developed into one of the most popular destinations in the world for all groups of tourists. Pattaya is also one of Thailand's most popular MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference, Event) cities. MICE is a type of tourism that combines conferences, seminars, exhibitions, events, and corporate incentives. With its developed facilities and infrastructure, it has also become attractive to international filmmakers.

Speaking at the 2nd Pattaya Film Festival, which took place from August 21 to 25 in Pattaya, Deputy Director of the Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand Arunya Keatkaew said that Pattaya is not only famous as a tourist city but also has great potential to become a "cinema city", occupying a central position in the film and creative industry of Thailand.

According to Ms. Arunya Keatkaew, Pattaya has many opportunities to continue to develop and contribute significantly to the national economy, while realizing the dream of bringing Thai films to the world, to promote the country's creative industry to more people around the world.

Seminar on the potential for developing the film industry and creative economy of Pattaya organized by the Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand. (Photo: XUAN SON)

In order to boost the country's "soft power" through developing the creative economy, the Thai government announced a vision called Ignite Thailand earlier this year, focusing on 11 areas, including cuisine, sports, festivals, tourism, music, books, movies, games, art, design and fashion.

In response to the Government’s development policy, Pattaya is applying to become a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of film. To this end, the city has signed memoranda of understanding with 12 organizations to promote Pattaya as a “city of cinema” and promote the city as a center of the film industry.

According to the Pattaya City Development Plan 2022-2027, Pattaya will be a one-stop service center for the film and creative industries. In addition, a 640,000 ^m2 film studio will be built to serve the film industry. Local educational institutions will also be involved in providing education and training to support the creative industry.

Local students attend a film screening as part of the 2nd Pattaya Film Festival. (Photo: XUAN SON)

As part of a project to promote Pattaya as a film city and an attractive filming location, the Pattaya Film Festival was first held in 2023. The event brought free films to the audience with a wide range of emotions. Film competitions, seminars and symposia on cinema were also held within the framework of the event.

At the 2nd Pattaya Film Festival, speaking to Nhan Dan Newspaper's correspondent in Thailand, Director of the Thai Film Archive, Ms. Chalida Uabumrungjit, said that in addition to promoting UNESCO's recognition as a film city, Pattaya also plans to encourage the participation of the community and local people in the film industry. Stimulating investment, creating jobs for the local community, and contributing to the country's economic growth is the sustainable development direction that Pattaya is aiming for.

Director of the Thai Film Archive Chalida Uabumrungjit shares about the development goals of Thailand's film industry. (Photo: DINH TRUONG)

Attraction comes from policy

According to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, in 2023, the activities of foreign filmmakers brought in more than 6.6 billion baht to Thailand, a record high, an increase of nearly 2 billion baht compared to 2022. A total of 466 films were shot in Thailand in 2023 by filmmakers from 40 countries and territories. Topping the list were filmmakers from the United States, followed by Hong Kong (China), China, Germany and South Korea. The three most popular locations for international filmmakers are Bangkok, Chon Buri and Samut Prakan.

A total of 466 films were shot in Thailand in 2023, by filmmakers from 40 countries and territories.

In the first half of 2024, a total of 238 films were shot in Thailand by filmmakers from 31 countries and territories. Although the number of films decreased compared to the same period in 2023, the investment value increased by more than 59%. The five groups of foreign filmmakers spending the most on filmmaking in Thailand were Hong Kong (China), followed by the UK, the US, France and Germany.

A banner of PRD Thailand promoting the potential of Pattaya city's film industry development. (Photo: DINH TRUONG)

One of the reasons for the increase in revenue from foreign film crews is that Thailand has offered more incentives for film production in the country. In 2022, the Thai Cabinet approved a five-year personal income tax exemption for foreign actors working on films shot in Thailand.

Previously, foreign actors had to pay personal income tax when working for film production companies in Thailand, but they also had to pay personal income tax in their home countries. Double taxation can be a deterrent for foreign filmmakers when choosing Thailand as a filming location. For this reason, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports has asked the Cabinet to approve a policy of exempting foreign actors from personal income tax.

2024 is the second year the Pattaya Film Festival is held. (Photo: DINH TRUONG)

For foreign filmmakers who invest 50 million baht or more in filming in Thailand, the government first introduced a cash rebate program in 2017. By 2023, the Thai Cabinet approved a proposal to increase the cash rebate to 20-30%, from the initial 15-20% of the film's production cost.

Under the incentive program, filmmakers who invest 50 million baht or more in filming in Thailand will receive a 15% cash rebate. Films that promote Thailand’s tourism and soft power, as well as the country’s positive image, will receive an additional 5%. Filmmakers who hire Thais as key personnel will receive an additional 3% rebate. Filming in secondary tourist cities will earn another 3%; and if film crews spend on post-production services in Thailand, they will receive an additional 2%. The cash rebate value is capped at 150 million baht per film.

The Thai government hopes that the preferential policies will attract more foreign filmmakers to Thailand. (Photo: DINH TRUONG)

The Thai government has stressed the need to adjust the criteria and conditions of incentives for filmmaking in Thailand. This adjustment is aimed at helping Thailand become better known worldwide as a leading favorable location for overseas filmmaking.

The Thai government believes that developing Thailand into a regional filmmaking hub will also help boost other related industries, create more jobs and income, and distribute wealth to regions across the country.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thailand-va-muc-tieu-tro-thanh-trung-tam-dien-anh-khu-vuc-post828210.html