The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched “Amazing Locations: From Scene to Scenic,” a campaign built to convert the country’s rising profile as a filming destination into lasting tourism, as productions ranging from “The White Lotus” to “The Challenge” Season 42 continue to draw international attention to Thai locations. TAT deputy governor Nithee Seeprae says the campaign grew out of watching how quickly the “set-jetting” trend has taken hold among travelers who plan trips around what they have seen on screen. TAT frames the push as part of a broader strategy to make Thailand a top-of-mind choice for global productions, pointing to the strength of its local crews, production infrastructure, studio facilities and incentive programs as the pillars of that pitch.
The campaign’s specific job, as Seeprae describes it, is to bridge filmmaking and travel: encouraging filmmakers to turn Thailand’s varied landscapes into cinematic backdrops while steering travelers toward the real places they recognize from the screen. Seeprae says the country’s cash rebate program has drawn in upward of 100 foreign productions to date, funneling more than THB20 billion ($608 million) toward Thai crews and local economies. The rebate program itself is administered by Thailand’s Dept. of Tourism rather than TAT, though the agency promotes it as part of the country’s broader pitch to filmmakers.
He points to Koh Samui as a case study: after the island appeared in the third season of “The White Lotus,” online interest in the destination jumped 88% and hotel reservations there grew 44%, figures he says have been echoed by titles including “The Hangover Part II” and “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” Recent Thailand shoots also include the Bollywood blockbuster “Dhurandhar,” Sam Raimi’s “Send Help,” the survival sequel “Fall 2: Deadpoint” and “John Rambo.” Seeprae says this year’s push doubles down on undiscovered locations rather than simply revisiting places already familiar to international audiences. He points to Isan provinces such as Nong Khai, Bueng Kan and Ubon Ratchathani, along with Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south, as places with striking scenery and a distinct sense of place that international productions have yet to explore. He cites director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s body of work as proof that cinema can give an entire region “a place in the world’s imagination.” As part of the campaign, TAT is running trips that bring filmmakers, producers, influencers and cultural figures into these locations along both a B2B track focused on production logistics and a B2C track aimed at travelers.
The push comes as Thailand’s production sector matures well beyond service work. Nicholas Simon, founder and producer at Indochina Prods., has watched the local crew base grow from working transportation on shoots to running productions worth well over $100 million. Simon credits “The White Lotus” and “Alien: Earth” with changing how Hollywood sees the country itself, rather than as a stand-in for somewhere else.
Those productions, he says, also introduced the industry to Thailand’s art department talent, and “the film incentive has driven a new wave of productions scripted Thailand for Thailand.” Simon adds that under-filmed regions such as Songkla, Ranong and the natural rock formations of the north and northeast still hold plenty of unexplored ground, noting that “The Creator” alone shot across 17 of Thailand’s 76 provinces. That maturity has pushed Indochina into original content through its new venture, TSixtySix. Producer Cod Satrusayang, head of studio at TSixtySix, says, “We think given the right support and the right stories, Thailand can become the next Asian wave following in the footsteps of South Korea,“ adding that clients who once came to Thailand purely for service work are increasingly asking about local stories too.
Satrusayang says the biggest remaining gap is screenwriting talent able to work within structure, and that streamers willing to back genres beyond horror and romance are reshaping what gets developed. TSixtySix has a heist film releasing early next year and a coming-of-age drama shooting in late January, with Satrusayang predicting demand for Thai content will keep rising. The country’s reputation as a source of acclaimed auteurs reinforces its appeal as a location, according to Raymond Phathanavirangoon, producer and founder of the SEAFIC Script Lab.
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