Slovenia airport sends tourist info via Bluetooth

At the baggage claim area of Jože Pučnik Airport in Ljubljana, Slovenia, travellers can pick up more than just their luggage. Using the Bluetooth feature on their mobile phones, they can download tourist information and coupons for their stay in Slovenia.

Through a campaign devised by the Slovenian Tourist Board in cooperation with Aerodrom Ljubljana and Creativ Interaktiv, arriving passengers riding on the airport's buses from plane to terminal are invited to turn on the Bluetooth feature on their mobile phones. That invitation is repeated as they pass through customs to the baggage retrieval area. Within baggage claim is the so-called Bluetooth Zone, where users who have turned on Bluetooth are asked if they want to receive information about Slovenia. Users who say yes receive a free SMS text message with instructions on downloading the information, which is presented in both Slovene and English and includes tips for a hassle-free stay in Slovenia, recommended tourist attractions and events, and mobile coupons from partner organizations. Following the positive response to a test in December and January, the Bluetooth service is in place at least through the end of this month.

While Bluetooth proximity-marketing efforts elsewhere have met with mixed success so far, the fact that travellers are already accustomed to receiving text messages from local phone providers when they land at a foreign airport makes this one seem like more of a natural fit. Tourist destinations and other airports should consider doing this campaign.