Southeast Asian airlines and tourism boards have gone an overdrive to make up for business lost due to the spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus.

Tourism boards have embarked on a major splurge. The Singapore Tourism Board alone plans to spend $2 million to attract tourists.

Airlines in the region are offering heavy discounts to Indian travellers for onward journeys to Australasia and the US.

In May, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are offering air fares that are 20-25 per cent cheaper than those offered by their rivals.

Singapore Airlines is offering a return fare of around Rs 30,000 in the Mumbai-Melbourne route (or any other destination in Australia) via Singapore, against the normal fare of around Rs 40,000.

Confirming the development, B K Ong, general manager (India) of Singapore Airlines, said: "We have introduced promotional fares for traffic out of India to Australia, New Zealand and the US because these destinations are now in demand. However, we have not altered the fares for flights out of India to Singapore because the current fares on this sector are already attractive."

Malaysia Airlines has reduced its May fares to around Rs 28,000 on the Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route (or any other destination in Australia) from around Rs 39,500.

Return air fares to Auckland and other destinations in New Zealand from Mumbai have been set at around Rs 32,000, down from Rs 42,000-44,000. Travel agents are also offering close to 6 per cent discounts.

Vimal Harnal, regional director (South & West Asia) of Singapore Tourism Board, said, "The exercise is to reassure that Singapore is full of life, excitement and world-class events, not just for Singaporeans, but for international tourists as well."

Over the next two months, the board will roll out its "Step Out! Singapore" programme.

The tourism boards have lined up offers, add-ons and events throughout May and June. The programmes, which emphasise the importance of exercising vigilance in the time of SARS, encourage tourists to have fun in a socially responsible manner, a senior executive of another Southeast Asian tourism board said.