It will also launch an online blitz to entice visitors.
The STB will not stop there: The 13 million to 14 million transit passengers who pass through Changi Airport annually will also be fair game. They will be coaxed to step out of the airport and spend some time, and money, outside it.
But the main push will come from the the marketing campaign, to be launched next Thursday in major markets such as Indonesia, China and India, as well as emerging ones such as Vietnam.
The figure 2009 will be a central theme of the campaign: 2009 reasons to visit, $200.90 packages for two persons covering airfare and hotel, and promotions on popular social networking sites like Facebook, where every 2009th person to sign up for a seat on a virtual aircraft bound for Singapore gets free air tickets to the Republic.
The $90 million Boost, or Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism, plan was announced in Parliament on Monday.
In giving details yesterday, STB said that besides attracting tourists, it will offer additional funding support to the sector; boost the industry's capabilities by offering training and training grants; and get industry partners to work together and plan for the future.
Singaporeans and residents will not be left out. With a sharp drop in tourism projected, they will be roped in to help shore up business at shops and attractions, through measures such as free tickets to attractions and goods and services tax (GST) rebates on shopping.
Shatec Institutes' chief executive officer Steven Chua said the investment in training a qualified workforce is crucial as the industry has a shortage of skilled manpower now.
While praising the measures as being pro-active, however, several players contacted said they felt the STB did not go far enough.
Rendezvous Hotel's general manager Kellvin Ong had hoped that the STB would offer the renovation subsidies given during the Sars outbreak in 2003 to help hotels spruce up and prepare for an improvement in business eventually.
However, noted the STB's new chief executive officer, Ms Aw Kah Peng, there is a key difference between the downturn during Sars and the current situation.
During Sars, she said, travel came to a standstill as people were afraid to leave their home countries because of the health risk.
Now, however, people are still travelling, or want to travel. The key is to give them a reason to, she added.
STB expects some 9 million to 9.5 million visitors to arrive here this year, a decline of between 6 per cent and 11 per cent over last year.
They are expected to spend between $12 billion and $12.5 billion, a drop of between 15 per cent and 18 per cent over last year.
These figures put tourism arrivals at around 2006 levels, when 9.8 million visited.
