Turistas de Hong Kong nas décadas 1960/70

Na edição de 1962 da Exporters' Digest and International Trade Review podia ler-se: "Tourism appears to be the most obvious solution to Macao's plight, and the colony hopes to divert travelers from bustling Hong Kong, 40 miles across the sea."

José Maria Braga escrevia em 1963 no seu "Macao A Short Handbook" que "Macao is a popular place for Hong Kong residents , and even tourists stopping at the British Colony , is shown by the great crowds of visitors who take advantage of every holiday to make their way to Macao."

Uma breve análise à imprensa da região nas décadas de 1960 e 1970 mostra o quanto era importante para a economia macaense o fluxo de turistas provenientes de Hong Kong.

No "Background Notes" publicado pelo Department of State dos EUA em 1970 pode ler-se:

Mapa da península de Macau e ilhas da Taipa e Coloane (sem a ponte Nobre de Carvalho e sem o istmo Taipa-Coloane) na contra-capa de um folheto turístico de Hong Kong em 1964.

"An estimated 1.2 million Hong Kong residents visited Macao in 1969 while the number of Japanese, British, American and other foreign tourists reached 164,000 in the same year. Among the attractions of Macao for tourists are its Mediterranean aspect and atmosphere as well as its casinos, dog racing tracks and the yearly Macao Grand Prix automobile race."

Segundo a publicação Far Eastern Economic Review "from 1970 to 1978 about 90% of Macao's visitors were from Hong Kong every year. The number of visitors to Macao in 1971 was expected to reach at least the 1.57 million figure for the previous year. About 1.3 million came from Hongkong. An estimated 2.2 million Hong Kong residents visited Macao in 1977, and the number of Japanese, British, American and other foreign tourists reached 550,000."

Em 1980 seria batido um novo recorde com 3,5 milhões de visitantes estrangeiros.