Macau Week in Las Vegas turned out to be an enjoyable experience for most of the people I talked to. But why come to Las Vegas, a city filled with people who would most likely want to get away from a city that has casinos when they go on vacation?

If you subscribe to the theory that doing business in Asia is all about relationships, you'll get a clue as to why there was an abundance of art and photography, Macanese food and Chinese lion and dragon dances at the MGM Grand, the Venetian and Wynn Las Vegas this week.

By nurturing relationships between cities that have a growing number of things in common, Southern Nevadans will develop a better understanding of the city that may someday supplant Las Vegas as the Gaming Capital of the World.

There are a number of reasons why the red carpet was rolled out for Macau, and Macanese artisans gladly took center stage for a week.

For openers, while Macau has a legion of Chinese high rollers that fatten the gaming revenue statistics every month, the city has some fundamental weaknesses. It doesn't have very many hotel rooms -- not even one-tenth of the 135,000 or so Southern Nevada has.

It's primarily a day-trip market. Visitors show up by the thousands on ferries from Hong Kong every day but they leave on those same boats before the sun sets.

The three Las Vegas resort companies invested in Macau, Las Vegas Sands Inc., MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts Ltd., hope to change that. While Las Vegas Sands has opened its own day-tripper property with the Sands Macau -- one of the first buildings you see in Macau on the ferry trip from Hong Kong -- its big project is being built on an island at the end of a majestic bridge from Macau.

A replica of the Las Vegas Venetian will be the centerpiece of the Cotai Strip, a collection of resorts, hotels and casinos about as long as the distance between the Bellagio and Treasure Island.

Las Vegas Sands executives are hoping that becomes the new centerpiece of Macau and are betting $2 billion that they can replicate its successful Las Vegas business model in China. They're hoping entertainment, restaurants, shopping and a convention center will help transform Macau from a one-day stop to a multiday destination.

And what can tourists do when they aren't going to shows, eating or walking the mall? They can see the Ruins of St. Pauls and the A-Ma Temple and learn about their significance in the history of the region, which dates back to the 16th century. Las Vegas was pretty proud of its 100th birthday in May. In 2013, Macau will be 500 years old.

Another reason Macau chose to celebrate its heritage in Las Vegas is that its leaders recognize that the link between the two cities is a two-way street.

The three resorts plan to cross-market their respective products. If you liked Wynn Macau, you'll love Wynn Las Vegas. And if you enjoyed MGM Mirage hospitality in Las Vegas, you'll get the same great service if you want to travel to the Far East.

The more these two cities understand about each other, the stronger the East-West conduit becomes. Las Vegas Sands, in fact, has an employee-exchange program in place in which 20 workers at a time trade places. Bill Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, said most exchanges last about eight weeks, but some high-level employees get to swap for six months.

By the way, Weidner said hiring for the Venetian Macau is going to start about a year from now and with as many workers as the company is going to need, there won't be enough from Macau to fill every slot.

The jury is still out on whether Macau Week in Las Vegas was the success government tourism leaders were hoping for. Those leaders are expected to regroup after the trip and evaluate whether it's something that might occur annually.

Some local leaders say despite the logistical hassles associated with bringing a large group of performers and art for display in four different locations that they hope Macau Week becomes a regular fixture on the local calendar.

In other tourism news

Holders of Southwest Airlines Rapid Reward cards -- and there are many of them in Las Vegas, where Southwest serves more than a third of McCarran's passenger traffic -- were happy campers this week when the airline announced changes in its frequent-flier program.

Under new terms of the program, members need two years to accumulate 16 points to get a free flight instead of one year. Passengers normally get a point for every one-way trip they take. Members can earn points staying at partnering hotels or renting cars through partnering companies.

The airline also removed blackout dates from the calendar to use those free tickets.

But on the downside, Southwest said it would restrict the number of free seats it would offer on each flight. Representatives didn't say how many seats would be available per flight.

Members have been grousing for months about Southwest's decision to reduce the number of points members get per one-way flight. For years, the company offered two. For awhile, members got 1 1/2, but that policy expired in April.

The airline still offers bonus points under certain promotions, such as flying to a particular destination, staying at a certain hotel or using a specific credit card to buy a ticket.

Richard N. Velotta covers tourism and gaming for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4061 or by e-mail at velotta@lasvegassun.com.