Toys, animation, comics and design are fun.

They are also big money - and Singapore wants in.

The inaugural two-day Singapore Toy and Comic Convention in June promises not only to bring in the tourist dollar, but also to strengthen the nation's position as the arts centre in Asia for business events, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

It is the first such event in the region, and is modelled after similar conferences in the United States and Japan, such as Comic-Con, an annual comic-book convention held in San Diego, California.

Said Ms Foo Yiting, 33, PI Events' director for marketing and communications: "Having taken part in other toy conventions around the world, we wanted to be the ones to organise the very first one here. We were not content with only toys; we wanted a monster pop culture event."

The convention is supported by the STB, under its BE (Business Events) in Singapore incentive scheme.

STB gave the organisers a three-year grant to encourage them to anchor the event in Singapore, said Ms Catherine McNabb, director of STB's business travel and MICE Group. The money will go to marketing the event to attract buyers and sellers, and building on the content to enable them to bring the right speakers and presenters, she added.

Apart from tourism receipts earned, the event will "build Singapore's branding as the arts hub of Asia for business events", said Ms McNabb.

Between 80 and 120 exhibitors are expected, said Ms Foo, though only half of the space has been taken up so far because the company only approached STB last November. However, she is optimistic about filling the space.

The confirmed exhibitors include toy-maker Hasbro, Lego and Japan's Medicom Toy.

Fans can also look forward to meeting British artist Gary Erskine, who has worked on comics such as Transformers, and Judge Dredd.

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