Tourist destinations are supposed to feel like a dream. They are supposed to take you into a different world, where you’ll forget all of the things waiting for you back home. The problem is that even though places like Disneyland, New York City, and Las Vegas are fun, they can also be very stressful.
Figuring out where to go and how to get there is tiring enough. But then having to worry about lost property in the hotel room, check-ins, and more is just added stress. Which is why you’ll be happy to hear vacationing is about to get a lot more enjoyable. And it’s all thanks to an app you’ve already got on your phone.
Here’s 5 Ways Tourist Destinations Can Use Passbook to make your vacation easier.
1. Never forget an event ticket again by storing them in Passbook
Your stomach drops. The sweats set in. You sink to the floor. It’s the worst feeling in the world, realizing you left your ticket in your hotel room. Or worse, at home. But by offering a mobile ticket, stored in your native mobile wallet, you would no longer need to worry about things like this. All you need to remember is your phone, which you aren’t likely to forget.
By placing the event ticket in Apple’s Passbook, you can receive up to date information, notifications, relevant offers for discounts on concessions, and even suggestions for other events that you may be interested in. The pass can even remind you that the event is starting, so that you can be sure to show up on time – with the pass. Plus, it’s great for the companies holding the event. Mobile wallet passes reduce the amount of counterfeit tickets, printing costs, paper waste, and have been shown to stimulate a higher redemption rate.
2. Cities could make transportation easier and more convenient with Passbook
From airline tickets to train tickets, transportation could be much simpler, mobile friendly, and a lot more interesting. You may have already seen how Apple Pay UK and Passbook can achieve this with Transport For London, and how Mobile Wallets can enhance travel experiences as a whole. But there’s more.
Passbook allows for any type of ticket to be made into a ‘pass’ and stored on a mobile phone via a mobile wallet. This means no more digging through your purse or wallet trying to find your train ticket. Passbook passes can also be updated in real-time, plus anyone with the pass in their phone can receive a lock-screen push notifications. This way, ticket holders can be made aware if their flight is delayed or their train won’t make it on time.
Overall, tickets in Passbook allow for your mind to be at ease as you travel. Knowing that you will always have your ticket, that you’ll be notified instantly of any delays, and that you can directly access websites or customer service information on the back.
3. Everybody wins with a chain pass in Passbook
Sometimes on vacation you simply don’t know where to go. Whether it is for lunch, dinner, dessert, or just a place to take a break, it can be difficult to figure out what to do. With a Passbook “Chain Pass”, however, both businesses and consumers win. A Chain Pass allows for businesses to create a seamless mobile O2O experience, connecting you from interaction to interaction.
For example, let’s say you grabbed your morning coffee from a place near your hotel. That coffee shop could offer you a discount on your coffee through a coupon in Passbook. After you redeem that coupon at the counter, it could automatically change in Passbook and gives you a new discount on a lunch set from a restaurant somewhere else in town. Now you not only know where to go for lunch, but you will also get a new experience when you arrive. That’s a win-win.
Which is a win-win-win-win-keep-on-winning, if you added even more links to the Passbook Chain Pass.
4. Never get lost again with Passbook mobile wallet content
Don’t you hate when you find something you really want to do on vacation, but you don’t know the address or how to get there? Well businesses could end that by placing their address on the back of Passbook mobile wallet content. Now you might argue, “what about Google maps“. But say you don’t have Internet because you’re abroad, or you don’t want the hassle of having to search the web for an address again and again? Which is why a Passbook pass comes in handy.
An event, experience, or shop could create a pass for Passbook. When you first find the experience you want online, you can then store a reminder pass in Passbook. Which could also be easily downloadable from a shared link on a brand or company’s Facebook or Tripadvisor page. And that’s not all.
Once the Passbook pass is in your phone, you’ve got the address stored for life. And you don’t need Internet to read it. Plus, it will automatically update if the company changes the location or other details of the activity. And if you do have Internet, the address can link directly to Apple Maps. Making your vacationing that little bit less stressful.
5. Give contextual aware offers with iBeacons and Passbook
While receiving situational deals through Chain Passes is awesome, iBeacons offer an enhanced Passbook experience. They allow for you to receive proximity based lock-screen notifications about offers, cool places to see, or events that may be near by. Which allows for you to interact with the environment around you and get the most out of something. Beacons really are Passbook’s perfect match, and here’s just one example why.
Let’s say you’re walking down the street and a bar is having a live music night. You have no idea. But a bluetooth Beacon could send you a lock-screen notification alerting you of this exciting event – which is very likely seeing as bluetooth will be on by default in Apple iOS9. This would stop you aimlessly searching for something to do, allowing you more time to enjoy yourself. And you can’t really say no to that, right? What’s more, this beacon could then provoke you to download a Passbook pass that enhances the experience inside the bar even more. Perhaps it has lyrics to the song being played, band information, or even a free beer coupon?
One Final Thought For Tourist Destinations and Passbook:
It’s time for tourist destinations to activate the O2O channel, and convert online consumer intent into real world transactions. And both BLE Beacons and Passbook mobile wallet content (stuff you can easily create using the PassKit Portal) are one way the world can do just that.
