Increased co-operation with Macau tourism authorities is being sought by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Travel Industry Council in an effort to boost tourist figures. The call comes after the management shake-up at the troubled Ngong Ping 360 cable car following a series of problems culminating in the fall of a gondola on June 11. 'Tourists can come to Hong Kong to shop, eat, visit Disneyland ... and then off to Macau to gamble,' Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun said during a radio programme yesterday. Mr Tien said he would meet Macau tourism officials on October 22 to discuss various proposals to attract more tourists. Speaking during a separate radio programme, Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said that while the opening of the massive Venetian Macao resort would have an impact on Hong Kong's tourist figures, he was confident many travellers would visit both Hong Kong and Macau. '[Hong Kong and Macau] should come up with co-operation projects and match each other's promotional efforts to attract tourists together and achieve a win-win situation,' Mr Tung said. He believed Hong Kong still had the edge in attracting families because children were banned from casinos and they would be more interested in theme parks, such as Disneyland. Mr Tung expected the number of mainland visitors to increase by 5 to 10 per cent in the coming 'golden week' National Day holiday next month, compared with the same period last year. Mr Tung said the council had adopted measures to better protect tourists. The number of complaints received by the council had dropped from about 60 a month on average to fewer than 10 a month between July and September. Liberal Party legislator Howard Young, who represents the tourism sector, yesterday admitted the Ngong Ping 360 saga had affected Hong Kong tourism. However, he insisted the impact was not 'striking'. The MTR Corp hopes the change in management will restore public confidence in the cable car.