Editor

In 2017, Thailand welcomed 80 international feature film productions to Thailand.

This is an increase on 2016, which saw 50 incoming feature films, and the highest figure ever. (The previous record was 2013, with 67 incoming feature films.)

Including television productions and advertising, overall 730 productions visited Thailand.

Productions from China contributed to the strong results. 65 productions from China visited Thailand, matching last year's number.

There were 52 productions from the UK, a record number. (The previous record was 45 productions in 2015.)

Japan brought 130 productions to Thailand, compared with 117 last year.

Worateera Suvarnsorn, Director of the Thailand Film Office welcomed the results

'Over the last few years, we have concentrated particularly on the promotion of Thailand as a location for international feature films, through our attendance at events like Cannes, AFM, and Filmart. It is gratifying to see that this has had a positive effect.'

The incentive measures which were introduced in January have already attracted two productions, and Ms. Suvarnsorn expects the incentives to attract more productions in 2018.

'We have worked hard in 2017 to spread the message throughout the industry that Thailand not only offers great locations, fantastic crews, and incredible value, but also that we now have an incentive, based on a straightforward cash rebate. We are confident that next year we will see a number of productions taking advantage of the incentive.'