Amid celebrations for highly revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday today, Thais will be taking stock of the relative calm after scenes of chaos in Bangkok earlier this year, when red-shirted anti-government protesters besieged the streets.
One immediate effect of the unrest in April and May was the cancellation of holidays by Hong Kong tour groups. Travel industry leaders have now put fears about political violence behind them as Thailand seeks to maintain its standing as the third most popular destination for Hongkongers after the mainland and Macau.
Concerns also seem to have been allayed among tourists from other parts of the world. Official government figures show 1.19 million tourists entered Thailand in September - an increase of 13.3 per cent on the previous year. A total of 14.8 million are expected to have visited by the end of the year.
In turn, the number of Thai visitors to Hong Kong is also on the rise, with monthly figures from Hong Kong Tourism Board showing 26,665 having arrived in September - a rise of 16.2 per cent on the same period last year.
Despite six heads of government and several major protests since tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in 2006, recent business indicators are mainly positive. Airports in Thailand, for instance, last week announced a doubling of full-year profits, mainly on the back of exchange rate and investment gains.
The most visible sign of Thailand's exports in Hong Kong are supermarket shelves piled high with Thai rice. Yet, overall, data-processing machines account for the main export, followed by car parts, accessories and cars from Thai assembly lines. Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, plans to produce 12,000 units of its hi-tech Prius hybrid vehicle each year in Thailand.
Rice only comes after precious stones and jewels on Thailand's league of export products, accounting for 3.56 per cent of the total, according to official figures. Asean members and China form the biggest trade partners, with Hong Kong taking 6.22 per cent of Thai exports. When it comes to market share for commodities, such as rice, tapioca, rubber and shrimp, Thailand dominates, with a 71 per cent hold on tapioca. Its market share is also rising for rice and rubber.
