BANGKOK – Sudawan Wangsupakitkosol, Minister of Tourism and Sports, announced that “The White Lotus” series productions, which Lisa, a Thai-born superstar of K-pop Blackpink, will join in the series Season 3, have begun in Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok.
On Instagram, the show’s official account, “thewhitelotus and streamonmax,” last week shared a picture of a clapperboard and stated that “unforgettable experiences are in the making at #TheWhiteLotus. We are eager to welcome new guests to our resort in Thailand.”
On February 13, it was revealed that Lisa Blackpink is joining the cast of the third season to make her acting debut.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is supporting the use of filming locations in Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok and expects that the series, similar to “The Beach,” will create demand among viewers to follow in her footsteps and visit Thailand.
“The government has supported foreign film productions to come and shoot in Thailand. This is done through incentives such as a cash rebate of 20-30 percent of the total investment,” the tourism minister said.
She expalined the main benefit is 20 percent for investments of at least 100 million baht. Further concessions can be up to 10 percent. There is also an additional discount of 3 percent if 50 percent of the shooting days take place in secondary tourist cities. A further 5 percent is granted for the promotion of soft power and Thailand’s positive image and 3 percent for the recruitment of key Thai personnel.”
There is currently a maximum spending cap of 750 million baht for films shot in Thailand. The Ministry of Tourism is proposing that the government consider whether or not to lift the cap for big-budget films that require more than 750 million baht to shoot in Thailand. This would accommodate film productions that need to spend large sums, which would also lead to high domestic spending.
The data shows that in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand earned 4.46 billion baht from foreign film productions. In 2021, despite the ongoing pandemic, film productions still came to Thailand, generating 5 billion baht in revenue. Revenues for 2022-2023 was around 6 billion baht.
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