Bangkok, 10 November 2009 — The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is supporting a Japanese-Korean movie production which is heavily filmed in Thailand and will be released in theatres all over Japan early next year.

“Sayonara Itsuka” is a romance based against the background of Thailand’s famous Oriental Hotel. The major scenes were shot in Bangkok; such as, cruising along the Chao Phraya River, Temple of Dawn, Don Meuang Airport, Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Damnern Saduak Floating Market, Tuk Tuk rides, etc.

Directed by John Lee, the movie features the Japanese stars Miho Nakayama and Hidetoshi Nishijima in the lead roles. Well-known Thai movie stars are also in the movie, Jirasak Pinsuwan, Chalit Fuengarom, and Supakorn Kijsuwan.

Altogether, about 80% of this film features Thailand, and the rest has been shot in Japan and Korea.

Miss Benjawan Sunatevorakul, Director of TAT Tokyo office said, “This film will go a long way towards showing Japanese people the beauty of Thailand, including many of its tourism spots and famous icons as well as The Oriental (one of the world’s most renowned hotels).”

If the movie is released as scheduled in January 2010, it will go a long way towards attracting more Japanese visitors in the high-season first quarter period.

In 2008, the number of visitor arrivals from Japan to Thailand totalled 1.1 million. However, the figure is expected to decline in 2009 largely due to global factors.

In January – September 2009, the number of Japanese visitors to Thailand at Suvarnabhumi International Airport declined by 22.58% to 683,563 over the same period of 2008.

Nevertheless, Japan is Thailand’s second largest source market after Malaysia. In recent years, Thailand has become very popular with Japanese independent travellers as well as group tourists visiting the kingdom for the first time. Due to the high level of Japanese investment in Thailand, especially in the motor vehicle sector, Japanese business travellers are also up strongly.

As of November 2009, a total of 103 direct scheduled flights are being operated weekly between Thailand and major cities in Japan (Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo by Thai Airways International, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, United Airlines, and Northwest. Japanese visitors to Thailand can obtain visa-free entry at all international airports and stay up to 30 days.

The Japanese-Korean film is one of many international feature films, documentaries, and advertising spots now being shot in Thailand, along with pre-and post-production work.

Encouraging more films to be shot in Thailand is a strategic objective of TAT as it seeks to promote the Kingdom as a quality destination. Top locations for international film shooting in Thailand are Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing said, “In line with the annual Bangkok International Film Festival which has established itself as the major marketing, media, and entertainment platform in Southeast Asia, this festival will go a long way supporting Thailand as a centre of tourism for excellence film-making.”

According to the Thailand Film Office, in 1998, Thailand received 291 applications for foreign productions in Thailand, which increased to 526 in 2008. The estimated income from the shoots was 400 million Baht and 2,023 million Baht, respectively.

Between 1998 and 2008, Japan was the largest market for foreign production filming in Thailand (1,621) followed by Europe (846), India (482), and USA (238).

In 2009, the line-up of film shoots in Thailand included 21 feature films, 92 advertisements, 85 documentaries, 25 TV series, and 42 music videos. These are estimated to have generated revenues of 497 million Baht. India ranked number 1 on the list followed by Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, China, and other countries in Asia.

For further information on the Thailand Film Office:
Tel. 66-2219-4010-7 Ext. 462-463, 66-2216-5637, 66-2216-6907
Fax. 66-2216-6656
E-mail: film@thailandfilmoffice.org
Web site: www.thailandfilmoffice.org

Contact information:
International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48
Fax: +66 (0) 2253 7419
E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Web site: www.tatnews.org