The "Hat Yai Bike Week" will kick off at noon on July 6, with bikers from all walks of life gathering at the Dannok-Bukit Kayu Hitam border point before crossing into Songkhla province and riding onward to the Hat Yai Muni-cipality Park, organisers said.

The three-day event is aimed at restoring confidence in Hat Yai, which has seen a major economic downturn over the past three years due to violence in the deep South.

A similar event, the Lang-kawi International Bike Week, will be organised two months later. Bikers from the region will gather at the same Thai-Malaysia border checkpoint at noon on September 7 before heading to the resort island of Langkawi in the Andaman Sea, said Dato Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, the Thai Honorary Consul in Langkawi.

The Thai Consulate in Langkawi is working with the Hat Yai Bikers Club and the Langkawi Pirate Riders to en-sure that travel and logistics for the two events go as smoothly as possible, Eskay said. A special "green lane" will be established to assist the bikers with customs and immigration at the border crossing, he said.

Both bike weeks will include visits to places of interest as well as a variety of activities to entertain and promote friendship among the participants. These include cultural shows, motorbike contests, live music performances, food and sales of motorbike products, accessories and clothing, Eskay said.