If the popularity of the HBO satire White Lotus continues into its third season (uh duh), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is likely to be pretty happy.
The tourism board announced filming for White Lotus: Season 3 will begin next month in Bangkok, Phuket, and Ko Samui.
TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the country was “honoured” to feature in the “highly anticipated” upcoming season of White Lotus.
“The kingdom’s exotic natural beauty, rich historical sites and diverse landscapes are the perfect settings to share our fascinating culture, fantastic cuisine, top-notch wellness and luxury offerings, and most importantly our people and Thai hospitality,” she said.
For White Lotus creators that hospitality took the form of a multi-million dollar rebate, which a Japanese producer says took the show from the predicted Japan to Thailand.
Even before the premier of Season 2, the show’s creator, Mike White, hinted that the next season of White Lotus would be heading to Asia.
“I think it’d be fun to maybe go to a whole different continent,” he told Deadline.
“You know, we did Europe. And maybe Asia, something crazy like that, that would be fun.”
Most people thought that meant Japan. But according to Japanese producer Georgina Pope, Japan couldn’t compete with Thailand’s filming incentives wooed over White Lotus’ creators.
“The Thai government had just announced a renewal and improvement on their film incentive system. A 30 percent rebate,” Pope said at the Tokyo Film Festival, Indie Wire reported.
“For their project, that meant US$4.4 million alone,” she said.
“Everyone looked at me with sympathy. At the time in Japan, we had no incentive in place at all. I could not respond with a concrete answer. All I could hear was the sound of a US$35 million project flying out the window.”
Why Thailand would make such an offer is pretty clear.
According to Alessio Virgili, co-founder and CEO of Sonders & Beach, when White Lotus was announced as the filming location for Season 2, tourist interest spiked.
Web searches for towns in Italy rose over 50% in December 2022, Virgili said.
So now’s probably the time to brush up on your Thailand knowledge.