In early May, a new film directed by Mark Waters (known for “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” and “Mean Girls”) was released on the Netflix streaming platform. Mark’s new work, a romantic comedy, was filmed at the popular resorts of Anantara Layan Phuket Resort and Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas — and, in fact, became a real recognition from filmmakers of their love for picturesque Phuket.
Minor Hotels, the operator of Anantara Resorts, invites travelers from all over the world to spend their holidays as the heroes of the new film “Mother of the Bride”, who met on a tropical island many years after a youthful love story. In a press release from Minor Hotels, everyone is invited to “make their dreams of a glamorous vacation come true.”
“You can see with your own eyes the very locations that charmed more than 26.7 million Netflix viewers around the world on the very first weekend after the premiere on the platform. Thailand has long established itself as a popular destination for directors and producers from Hollywood and beyond, which only helps to increase the tourist flow and support the local economy,” the official statement also says.
In 2022, the kingdom’s government took the bold step of abolishing income tax for foreign talent for five years, which provided an additional surge of interest among filmmakers. Since then, the scope of support measures has been expanded: for example, thanks to a 20% discount for foreign filmmakers, Phuket has become one of the most popular locations for filming films.
Representatives of the tourism regulator, the government and local businesses consider the interest of the foreign film industry in Phuket as an investment that will pay dividends in the form of a sharp increase in the number of visitors and a significant increase in the incomes of local entrepreneurs, since foreign-made paintings like “Mother of the Bride” introduce the beauties of Thailand to potential future guests of the island.
The film premiered on May 9: the plot centers on a woman named Lana, played by Brooke Shields. She comes to Phuket at the invitation of her daughter, who dreams of walking down the aisle on a paradise island. Nothing portends problems, but only until it turns out that the girl managed to fall in love with the son of Lana’s former lover, whom she met while still in college.
William Heinecke, founder and chairman of the Board of Minor International, received a cameo role in the film, who also made a corresponding statement: “Thailand skillfully uses the phenomenon of “set jetting” when tourists choose places from films and television series to visit.” It’s hard to argue with this — the locations that were captured during the filming of “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio and the third episode of “Star Wars” are still popular with travelers.