DISCOUNTS and promotions delivered by SMS are luring Singaporeans and residents to hotels and attractions here in their own country.

Free tickets to attractions like the Singapore Flyer and discounted stay in hotels are being snapped up.

The positive response is helping the local tourism industry, which is suffering from a decline in foreign tourist arrivals this year due to the global economic downturn.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) kicked off the 2009 Reasons to Visit Singapore promotion last month. It markets Singapore as a value-for-money destination for foreigners and encourages residents to visit local attractions.

STB has a $90 million war chest to help the tourism industry weather the storm, and has tapped on these funds to promote attractions and subsidise tickets.

Purchasing officer Kelly Lim, 37, queued overnight just to get the free Singapore Flyer tickets given away last month, as she wanted to take her eight-year-old son for a ride.

She said: 'The tickets are quite expensive otherwise for a family of three.' She ended up with four tickets, and since her husband did not want to go, she took her son for two rides.

'He was so thrilled,' she said. The same outing at the normal price would have cost her more than $100.

Housewife Irene Lim, 45, grabbed the chance to take her nephew and niece, who were visiting from Malaysia, to Sentosa.

'Now we have to save money, but we still need to give the children a treat sometimes. So such offers help,' she said.

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of the Straits Times.