Macao tourism 'golden', while HK loses shine

As Hong Kong protesters were blocking roads and forcing shops to close, a record number of mainland tourists were occupying the streets of Macao.

More than 750,000 tourists from the mainland have poured into the world's largest gambling center since the National Day holidays known as Golden Week began Oct 1, with growth accelerating to 17 percent over last year. The surge came as the Occupy Central protests pushed Hong Kong into its worst chaos in decades and cut its rise in Golden Week visitors to 5.4 percent, compared with 16 percent last year.

"Occupy Central has boosted the retail market and brought more mainlanders to Macao," said Lei Kuok Keong, who plans casino trips for high rollers and is also vice-chairman of the Macao Gaming Industry Frontline Workers union. "Some Hong Kong people who wanted to avoid the protests also came to Macao. That has helped boost the visitor numbers to casinos."