Actors Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta perform in Singapore. Telegraph picture

Singapore is wooing tourists with a vengeance and Indians are the top targets.

Seventh on the list of visitor arrivals, Indians rank fourth among the big spenders. In 2002, Singapore had S$88.7 billion worth of tourism revenue and 7.6 million visitors. Over 375,000 of them were Indians. This year?s numbers so far indicate an even bigger increase.

?New flights by Sahara and Jet Airways are supposed to start next year. So we expect the number of Indian tourists to Singapore to increase aggressively in the next few years. In fact, we expect India to move up to fifth position in terms of visitor arrivals this year. About 80 per cent of them come for shopping,? said Edward Chew, area director, western India, the Singapore Tourism Board.

A tiny island nation founded by an Englishman named Stamford Raffles, who stepped on its shores in 1819, Singapore is all of 42 km from east to west and 24 km from north to south, with about 54 islands dotted around.

The Uniquely Singapore campaign launched recently is just one aspect of the board?s India offensive. In February this year, a marketing advisory council was set up here, the first one outside Singapore.

The members include Ranjit Malkani, chairman of the Kuoni Travel Group (India), Peter Mukerjea, CEO, STAR News, Prof. Aman Agarwal, director, Indian Institute of Finance Business School, Jamshed Daboo, chief operating officer, The Taj Group, and Rattan Keswani, vice-president, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts.

The Film in Singapore project has a budget of S$10 million to woo filmmakers. The scheme will also provide 50 per cent subsidies for expenses.

Although it is not India-specific, Bollywood is the main mark, especially after the International Indian Film Academy Awards was held there in May this year.

Suniel Shetty?s production company has filmed a song sequence, Ramesh Sippy has shown interest and Rakesh Roshan will be in Singapore soon to finalise plans. The idea, from the tourism board?s point of view, is to attract tourists, ?because Bollywood has a huge influence on the Indian people?.

The board is on the offensive, with two new offices to be launched by this year-end in Delhi and Chennai to add to the Mumbai presence. Education fairs and roadshows are being held on a daily basis in the metros. There is no slowing down the gravy train.

Even the number of students going to Singapore is expected to double next year, with ?quite a few? of them being Indians, added Chew. Medical tourism is another area of growth.

The festival focus, post-Diwali, Id and Chinese New Year, is firmly on Christmas. And the board has gone overboard with the celebrations. Apart from the usual lighting, multi-cultural performances on the streets and on stage and the shopping discounts-cum-prizes attractions, there?s a month-and-a-half-long list of events, which began on November 13 and will continue till January 2.

There will be parties galore with international acts and plenty of first-time events ? dancing Christmas trees, concerts like Christmas carols by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, ice shows, free open-top bus rides to catch the lights, plenty of fun for the kids like the Nickelodeon Fiesta and much more.

The tourism board has pulled out all the stops, and the officials are confident of raking in the rewards, rolling stone Indians willing.