KUALA LUMPUR: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) forecasts tourism figures this year to increase from 9.7 million visitors in 2009 to 11.5 million-12.5 million visitors and S$17.5-S$18.5 billion (RM41.6 billion-RM44 billion) in tourism receipts.

Ken Low, assistant chief executive of STB's marketing group, said that the increase was on the back of recovering global economy, major events like the inaugural Youth Olympic Games and the F1 Grand Prix, and the launch of integrated resorts (IRs) Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands.

Resorts World Sentosa began its phased opening on Jan 20 with the launch of four hotels, followed by the opening of the casino on Feb 14, and the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on Wednesday, March 10.

Marina Bay Sands, developed by the Las Vegas Sands Group, will open its doors on April 27 with 963 hotel rooms, part of the shopping mall and convention centre, dining outlets including celebrity chef restaurants and the casino.

"They (the IRs) are our trump cards. We anticipate they will contribute about S$2.8 billion, 2.8% of Singapore's GDP, by 2015," said Low at the launch of Singapore's new destination brand YourSingapore in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

"Interest from Malaysians in the two resorts has been very strong," he added.

Last year, Malaysia represented Singapore's fourth-largest visitor source with 764,000 visiting the island, based on air arrivals.

"With so many commuting daily to and from Singapore and Malaysia, we consider air arrivals as the more accurate measure," explained Low.

According to Low, the decision to evolve Singapore's destination brand from five-year old Uniquely Singapore to YourSingapore was made in response to events scheduled for the coming year and a need to adapt to the shift in traveller demands.

"Based on focus groups and interviews conducted in seven markets, including Singapore, China, India and the UK, we know that travellers today want to be able to customise their travel experience — which is what YourSingapore is about," said regional director for Asean Geraldine Yeo.

Malaysia is the first country, outside of Singapore, to launch the campaign which kick-starts at the Matta Fair today. The campaign will incorporate traditional and digital media, and the total budget runs into "tens of millions" said Low, who declined to disclose actual figures.

At the heart of the campaign is www.yoursingapore.com, an integrated platform that will allow travellers to plan their personal travel itinerary, book rooms and buy tickets for travel and events.

"Our brand promise for YourSingapore to visitors is that they have the control to create the experience they want," said Low.