Srettha, Paetongtarn to discuss soft power with Lisa
Meeting to take place in next couple of months as government looks to boost film shoots by offering increased privileges
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra will discuss soft power promotion with Thailand’s K-pop princess Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal in the next month or two, the Government House said on Monday.
Lisa is rearranging her agenda to meet with Srettha and Paetongtarn, it said, adding that Lisa visited Koh Samui in Surat Thani province in July to film the third season of dark comedy TV series “The White Lotus”.
With production set in Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui, the series is expected to hit the screens on HBO’s video streaming platform in 2025.
Also filmed in Thailand last month were scenes for the TV series “Alien: Earth” shot in Samut Prakan, and the upcoming theatre release “Jurassic World 4” in Krabi and Trang.
A source close to the PM said the government is planning to improve filming promotion measures in Thailand, namely increasing the cash rebate from 15-20 per cent to 20-30 per cent for investments of at least 100 million baht in Thailand, and raising the rebate ceiling from 75 million baht to 150 million baht per title.
Regulations on domestic employment and filming in secondary cities would be included to promote tourism, the source added.
The Tourism Department reported that Thailand generated 3.13 billion baht from international filming in the country in 2018, 4.86 billion baht in 2019, 1.74 billion baht in 2020 and 5 billion baht in 2021.
Filmmakers from Greece, Malaysia, South Africa, Georgia, Colombia, India, the Philippines, South Korea and Australia requested privileges under the scheme for 43 titles from 2017 to October 31, 2022, which generated 8.56 billion baht for the country.
