Singapore, a major Asian financial and transport hub, attracts many millions of tourists from around the world. This is despite the fact that the island state lacks white-sand beaches and other natural wonders usually associated with tourists and tourism. So it has resorted to building a wide array of attractions, among them two casino resorts and a theme park. And then there are the steel trees and architecture that stands out, like the building shaped like a durian - a hedgehog-like fruit that one commentator describes as "smelling like road kill wrapped in sweaty socks and with the texture of rotten bananas".
This approach (using fabricated structures to attract visitors), has clearly paid off, however. In fact, last year saw a record 15.5 million visitors of which more than 500,000 were from the Philippines - and that was just from January to September.
The Singapore Tourism Board therefore decided that attracting more visitors from the Philippines made good sense. Hence the video...
It lasts just three minutes, mercifully, and sees a young Filipino couple "ooing" and "aahing" as they experience the latest additions to Singapore's range of attractions.
At the end, the young wife presents hubby with a gift ...but it's not a watch, not an electronic gadget, not a gold bracelet, not a pendant he can hang around his neck but a... well, watch the video and see whether you would echo the husband's words..."I knew Singapore always had a surprise waiting for me!"
