New Movie Picture Industry Service to Open in Bangkok

Thailand will cut red tape for international film crews making movies in the country to obtain more foreign exchange, Tourism and Sports Minister Suwit Yodmanee said recently. Consequently, a one-stop motion picture industry service centre will open close to the offices of the Tourism and Sports Ministry on Bangkok's Rajdamnoern Avenue on July 12, 2007 to promote film-making by foreign operations in Thailand.

Bureaucratic procedures and regulations affecting the motion-picture industry will be speeded up, with the help of online technology, while the authorities concerned: the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Culture Ministry, the Labour Ministry and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, will provide every convenience, Mr. Suwit said. Foreign embassies in Thailand and overseas tourism offices will help publicize the one-stop service centre for the film industry in Thailand, he added.

Mr. Suwit said Thailand earned almost two billion baht in foreign currencies from companies who had come to Thailand to make 491 films, including 26 feature films. Most international film makers operating in Thailand are from Japan, India and South Korea.