Thailand earned a record Bt870.29 million from on-location film shoots, January to May, according to a Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ Thailand Film Office Department update, released earlier this week…Japan filmmakers topped the list for the first five months with 71 productions followed by 62 from India, 46 from Europe, 23 from Hong Kong, 20 from South Korea, 16 each from China and the United States, 10 from Australia, four from Taiwan and 66 from other nations…

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Clearly the entertainment industry in Thailand is bustling. Many view the revenues generated from foreign productions in Thailand as a significant boon to the economy since the revenue is derived from a foreign source, so they are seen as direct injections of foreign capital into the Thai economy. Meanwhile, the ancillary benefits of these foreign productions can most tangibly be seen in the area of job creation. As more foreign productions are looking to Thailand as an option for filming, more Thais are being recruited and put to work assisting in these productions. To provide further insight into these developments a quote from a recent article on Variety.com provides further details:

The film and television industry in Thailand contributed $2.2 billion to the country’s economy and supported 86,600 jobs in 2011, the most recent year for which those figures are available…Thailand lures foreign productions because they bring in direct revenue, and help attract tourists…The industry generated tax revenues of $81.4 million in 2011, according to the Motion Picture Assn. Meanwhile, the National Federation of Thai Film Assns. expects the local pic industry to double in size this year, with the key films being “King Naresuan 5,” “Tom yum goong 2″ and horror pic “Pee mak phra khanong.” Big Western movies in recent years include “Hangover II” and “The Impossible.” The massive success of the Chinese movie “Lost in Thailand” has resulted in a noticeable rise in the number of Chinese tourists…

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As the Thai domestic market for motion pictures is expected to grow it stands to reason that there will be further growth ahead for the entertainment industry in Thailand. Meanwhile, an upshot of the film world’s love affair with Thailand is an increase in tourism to Thailand, as noted above. This blogger can say from personal experience that there does seem to be an increasing number of Chinese tourists sightseeing in Bangkok. Whether all of these tourists are coming due to increased exposure of Thailand in Chinese films, or simply because Thailand remains one of the premiere tourist destinations is an interesting question to ponder. However, one thing is clear, Thailand is benefiting from the entertainment industry (both foreign and domestic) and it appears that the Kingdom will continue to do so.