Government House, The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s support for foreign film crews in Thailand through measures to promote filming, and welcomed Apple’s use of Thailand as a location for filming its latest commercial video, helping to promote Thailand’s soft power. He believes that this will further expand business opportunities, strengthen the Thai tourism industry, and increase people’s income.
Mr. Chai Wachirong, spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office, revealed that the government is ready to drive the film industry in Thailand to create a circulation of money to bring income into the country, along with promoting tourism through Thailand’s unique Soft Power, in line with the policies of Mr. Settha Thavisin, the Prime Minister, who recently welcomed the famous technology company Apple to film a product advertisement video in Thailand. The content of the video inserts Thailand’s Soft Power through the fun of traveling in Thailand in various parts of the advertisement, which is an opportunit
y to present Thai tourist attractions, culture, and food to foreign markets.
The Prime Minister’s Office spokesman said that the commercial video is called The Underdogs: OOO (Out Of Office) | Apple at Work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbYckRAt5os), which was released on Apple’s official YouTube channel, which has 19.1 million subscribers. As of July 24, 2024, the video has been viewed more than 3.6 million times. The content is about a group of employees from a US company who travel to Thailand to find a factory to produce goods. During their work, the characters have fun traveling to various places in Thailand and are able to work without any problems. Each scene of the video includes Thai soft power, such as Thai food, dressing in elephant-patterned shirts and pants, Thai massage, traveling by tuk-tuk, boat, bus, train, and traveling to various places such as Hua Lamphong Railway Station, Yaowarat Road, and Rayong Province. It reflects the diversity of tourism in Thailand, which is full of fun. The pe
ople are friendly, approachable, and ready to help tourists.
In addition, the content in the video also reflects the character’s work style that can be done from anywhere (Work from Anywhere). Thailand has an environment suitable for working anywhere because there is a stable and high-speed internet system. This is in line with the measures and guidelines for visas to promote tourism and stimulate the Thai economy that have been effective since July 15, 2024, especially the addition of a new type of visa, Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), for foreigners who wish to stay in Thailand to work remotely via digital systems (remote worker or digital nomad) and travel at the same time (workcation), which can stay in Thailand for no more than 180 days at a time, with a visa validity of 5 years.
This is an opportunity from the government’s policy to offer benefits to attract foreign film crews through the measures to promote the filming of foreign films in Thailand (Thailand Film Incentive Measures) by refunding no m
ore than 20 percent (Cash Rebate) of expenses incurred in Thailand. The latest data from the Foreign Film and Video Affairs Division (TFO Thailand Film Office), Department of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, found that statistics on foreign filming in Thailand from January to July 2024 showed that there were 259 foreign films filmed in Thailand, with the most filmed in the advertising and public relations category at 106 films from 31 special economic zones, using filming locations in 49 provinces, resulting in an investment budget of over 3.881 billion baht.
‘The Prime Minister has continuously supported the development of the country’s potential, and has driven policies to promote Thailand’s soft power as a magnet that attracts people from around the world to travel, work, and live in Thailand, making Thailand an important destination for people around the world. The government has prepared in all aspects, including measures to support filming from abroad, visa exemption measures to facilitate both
workers and tourists, for the country’s important image and opportunities to stimulate tourism, expand business opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs, and distribute income to all citizens,’ said Mr. Chai.
Source: Thai News Agency