Bangkok (NNT/VNA) - Using the popularity of homegrown "boys’love" (BL) productions as an attraction, Thailand has launched a campaignto attract international tourists, particularly Japanese tourists.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), thecampaign was launched in June at the Mini Thai Festival in Osaka, Japan. Twobooths were set up by video distributors in the "Thai BL" corner,attracting a large crowd that was also there to view Thai street food stallsand a Muay Thai exhibition.

The productions, known as "Y series" in Thailand —a reference to the Japanese "yaoi" fiction that featuresrelationships between male characters and served as the inspiration for BLdramas — were once viewed with prejudice but have since gained acceptance dueto their potential to serve as cultural exports.

When the TAT’s Osaka office offered eight participants atrial tour, partially funded by the office, to BL drama location sites inThailand in early June, the slots were filled immediately.

Chanyuth Sawetsuwan, the head of TAT’s Osaka office, statedthat the boom witnessed in Japan has spread to other Asian nations and SouthAmerica, prompting the Thai government to position BL dramas astourism-promoting content.

Rujirat Ishikawa, a Thai assistant professor at Aoyama GakuinUniversity specialising in Japanese manga culture, stated that BL dramasinclude scenes in which boys come out to family members or demonstrate similaracts of courage, giving viewers a sense of their inner struggles.

Ishikawa noted, however, that Thai BL dramas frequentlyconclude with a happy ending, fostering positive emotions to eliminateprejudice against sexual minorities./.