"There is a demand growing here," Ms Groves said. "[International film crews are attracted] to the uniqueness of our culture and the uniqueness of our topography and our flora and fauna.
"Movies are always looking for something different and unique and something no one else has done yet. It's not cheap to fly all the way to New Zealand to make movies and those that do it, need a lot of help locally," she said.
"I just had a meeting on Monday with an individual from Malaya, India where there's directors currently looking seriously at doing more movies in New Zealand and some are specifically looking at coming to Rotorua so there is definite interest out there.
"The demand will grow when Life of Josutty is released [this month] in India because it's based here in Rotorua. They have the top actors and directors involved in that project so the likelihood of that comedy being a smash hit is very, very high."
Ms Groves said she also enjoyed seeing the transformation locals experienced when working in an unknown industry for the first time.
"When they would come in they're completely nervous, fish out of water, and then you explain the scene to them and they start to get excited and when they do their scene and you tell them how great it was, they're just so confident."
Destination Rotorua general manager of marketing Oscar Nathan said there had been a growing interest in Rotorua as a film destination over the past few years.
The Rotorua Lakes Council did not have figures on the number of overseas film crews shooting in Rotorua as in most cases the council did not require them to register or obtain a permit.
"This has included film shoots for everything from the major Disney movie production Pete's Dragon, to China's biggest TV reality series, Daddy, Where are we Going? where Rotorua-based episodes were recently seen by hundreds of millions of viewers," Mr Nathan said.
"In May last year, the US-based Travel Channel RV Rampage series filmed in Rotorua which attracted a worldwide audience of about 200 million and more recently a number of overseas film crews were in Rotorua to cover the international mountain bike festival Crankworx.
"Through television and social media live streaming that event helped expose Rotorua to an estimated 1.8 million people across the globe."
Mr Nathan said in the past month two international crews were filming reality TV shows in Rotorua although the details were to remain under wraps at this stage.
The producers of Downton Abbey and a Kiwi-based Emmy award-nominated writer are also developing a new BBC crime series set in Rotorua. Provisionally titled Bay of Plenty, filming was expected to begin later this year.
"The council aims to roll out the red carpet rather than red tape wherever possible, and that makes filming relatively easy and cost-effective here. This, combined with our spectacular scenery, and unique qualities like our Maori culture and geothermal landscapes, makes Rotorua a very attractive proposition for filming," Mr Nathan said.
"The council works behind the scenes to facilitate filming for many film productions and there's a variety of ways we assist. Sometimes it's providing advice and introductions to help identify suitable locations and people to work with, and at other times the council assists with the practical logistics of filming, such as allowing temporary street closures or use of council facilities. Destination Rotorua has worked closely with a number of overseas film crews in the last few years, some through partnerships with Tourism NZ."
Mr Nathan said the overseas exposure of Rotorua as a visitor destination through film and TV productions was "priceless".
"We could never expect to buy media coverage to reach such massive international markets. Encouraging and helping film crews to shoot in Rotorua means the message gets out, via word-of-mouth, that we are a very film-friendly destination.
"Many film crews employ local people and contractors while they're here ... [and] when their productions go to screen, they build awareness of Rotorua as a visitor and lifestyle destination, which in turn can result in more people heading our way and giving our local economy a boost."
