As of January 2017, Thailand now offers its very own formal incentive programme. At its core, the base incentive is comprised of a 15% cash rebate, allowing separate uplifts of both 3% and 2% to productions that hire local talent/labour and promote Thailand as a tourist destination.
A minimum of THB50 million (USD1.4 million) must be spent in order to qualify for the scheme, which has a per-project payout of THB75 million (USD2.17 million). Commercial productions are ineligible to apply for the programme.
Japan and India are Thailand’s biggest international production clients, with Europe close behind in third place. Dennis Gansel's action-thriller, Mechanic: Resurrection is among the few high- profile US productions to have filmed locally in recent years.
Thailand faces competition from Malaysia, which now has improved studio facilities and a filming incentive. China is the biggest regional focus for the international community, offering a lucrative market accessible through effective co-productions.
The producers of The Coup had a wide choice of countries in which they could have based this production. The fact that they chose Thailand is a great testament to the skills of the Thai crews and the resources that Thailand offers. We are delighted to help bring this project to the screen.
Chris Lowenstein, Living Films
Thailand has a tropical climate, with annual temperatures hot all year round but peaking in April and May at about 30C. The summer months through to October are monsoon season, when heavy rains punctuate the high temperatures and humidity.
Rainfall tends to be heaviest in September and 90% of the country’s annual rainfall comes down during this monsoon season.
January and February are generally the driest months. A north-east breeze has a cooling effect from November to February and the humidity goes down during this period as a result. Much of Thailand experiences flooding during the monsoons.
