Thailand Tourism Official to Tawasul News: Film Opens New Paths for Canada Ties

Interview by Tahani Elghazaly

Thailand is looking to film and the creative industries as a way to deepen its reach among Canadian travellers, presenting the country not only as a long-haul tourism destination, but also as a place where culture, production, hospitality and professional collaboration intersect.

In an exclusive interview with Tawasul News, Nithee Seeprae, Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), discussed the Canadian market, the growing influence of screen tourism and the potential for stronger professional links between Canadian and Thai filmmakers and creative institutions.

He also outlined efforts to turn connections made during the Toronto International Film Festival into longer-term cooperation, including upcoming familiarization trips to Thailand and a larger role for TAT’s Chicago office, which oversees the Canadian market.

Thailand’s Ambassador to Canada, H.E. Darm Boontham, recently spoke about tourism and people-to-people connections as an important part of the growing relationship between Thailand and Canada. From your perspective at TIFF, how can film and the creative industries deepen those ties and introduce Canadian audiences to Thailand in new ways?

Seeprae said Thailand is already established as one of the preferred long-haul destinations for Canadian travellers, but film and the creative industries can take that relationship further by introducing Canadians to destinations that remain less familiar beyond the country’s traditional tourism image.

Film, he explained, allows viewers to experience a destination’s scenery, culture and atmosphere before ever setting foot there, creating an emotional connection that can later influence travel decisions. The growth of set-jetting — travelling to places featured in films and television series — illustrates the expanding role of screen content in destination choice.

TAT’s overseas offices are therefore building on the global reach of productions filmed in Thailand, including The White Lotus Season 3 and Jurassic World, to introduce international audiences, Canadians among them, to a wider range of Thai destinations.

For Seeprae, storytelling can move a destination beyond the static “postcard” image of tourism. Viewers encounter a place through characters, narratives and experiences, and that relationship can ultimately translate from the screen into a desire to experience the destination in real life.

He added that film also creates connections behind the camera. International crews may spend weeks or months working alongside Thai production teams, local partners and communities, meaning that hospitality and everyday interactions become part of their professional and personal memory of the country.

Those experiences, he said, can turn a production relationship into professional connections and friendships that continue long after filming ends.

During your conversations at TIFF with filmmakers, producers, executives and international delegates, what aspects of Thailand generated the strongest interest as a filming destination, production partner and country whose culture can reach global audiences through the screen?

Seeprae said discussions at TIFF showed that filmmakers are looking for much more than attractive scenery. Their decisions increasingly depend on a combination of whether a location can serve the story, whether the production ecosystem can deliver the project professionally, and what kind of experience the crew will have while working in the country.

The starting point, he said, is always the story. A filming location must do more than look impressive; it has to convincingly serve the world the filmmaker is trying to create.

Thailand’s advantage lies in a diversity that cannot be reduced to a single visual identity. Bangkok offers intense urban energy alongside historic neighbourhoods, while mountains, forests, islands and coastlines provide very different environments. Just as importantly for production planning, strong road, air and sea connections allow crews to move between many of those settings relatively quickly.

TAT’s role, he explained, is therefore not simply to show producers Thailand’s best-known locations, but to help them discover fewer familiar settings capable of serving the visual and dramatic needs of a particular project.

Yet Seeprae stressed that a compelling location alone is not enough to secure an international production. Producers also need confidence that their creative vision can be delivered professionally and at the required technical standard.

Thailand’s established production ecosystem and experienced crews have supported major international projects including The Creator, The White Lotus Season 3 and Jurassic World Rebirth.

Financial considerations also strengthen the proposition. Eligible foreign productions can access Thailand’s film incentive programme, with cash rebates reaching up to 30%, adding an economic factor to the country’s locations and production capabilities.

A third consideration is the experience of the production team itself during the weeks or months it spends in the country.

Accommodation, food, hospitality and day-to-day life all become part of the crew’s overall assessment of a production destination. Those experiences do not end when filming wraps; they shape the impressions crew members take home and how they later speak about Thailand within the industry.

Thailand’s appeal to filmmakers, therefore, rests on a broader ecosystem: locations capable of serving the story, a professional sector capable of bringing that story to the screen, and a working experience that can strengthen longer-term relationships with the country.

Beyond the festival, where do you see the greatest potential for Canada and Thailand to work together at the intersection of film, tourism and the creative economy? Have any opportunities emerged from TIFF that you hope to develop further?

Seeprae said the biggest opportunity after TIFF is to turn the relationships formed in Toronto into a long-term creative pipeline between Canada and Thailand, moving discussions beyond festival introductions and toward projects and partnerships that can be developed on the ground.

As part of that effort, TAT has FAM trips planned for October and November, bringing selected international filmmakers and industry professionals to Thailand to explore potential filming locations, meet local production partners and assess how projects currently in development could take shape in the country.

He also identified TAT’s Chicago office, which is responsible for the Canadian market, as the main point of contact for Canadian producers, filmmakers and organizations interested in exploring partnerships with Thailand.

For filmmakers ready to move from interest to actual production, understanding Thailand’s filming regulations and requirements is an important first step. Thailand Film Office rules require foreign productions to obtain filming permission and work through a registered local coordinator who can assist with legal documentation, government coordination, locations, crews, talent, equipment and technical services.

Financial incentives can also play an important role in production decisions. Foreign productions become eligible for the primary incentive once qualifying local spending reaches at least 50 million Thai baht, while total cash rebates can reach 30% depending on spending levels and additional qualifying criteria.

Canadian producers and organizations interested in exploring opportunities can begin by contacting the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Chicago office at [email protected]. The office’s official area of responsibility includes Canada.