VISITORS TO the 1,000-year-old Caherconnell Stone Fort in Co Clare won't have to grapple with maps or tune headsets to hear tourguide information – instead, all they need will be sent free to their mobile phones, writes GORDON SMITH

The architectural site is testing a tourist guide which can be downloaded to any phone using Bluetooth wireless technology.

Launched this month, the guide contains an interactive map. Clicking on one of the 11 places of interest on the tour launches text about that location, a photo and an audio commentary. The information can be updated and changed.

The guide was developed by Mobanode, a Limerick-based digital agency. “Mobile is the ideal medium to reach out to tourists and provide content,” said Shane McAllister, founder of Mobanode.

“Many tourist attractions have proprietary handsets to hire or rent, which can be expensive to maintain, but everybody coming through the door already has the display technology in their pockets in the form of a phone.”

On arrival, signs prompt visitors to switch on their phone’s Bluetooth setting, and they receive an opt-in message asking whether they wish to receive the guide.

Since it was launched, 65 per cent of visitors with Bluetooth-enabled phones have downloaded it.

The application remains on the phone long after tourists have left, and it includes a “send to friend” feature. John Davoren, owner of the Caherconnell site, said this could be a useful viral marketing tool. “We’re hoping for a multiplier effect, where if they have downloaded it and know someone who is visiting the Burren, they can say, ‘Have a look at this’.”

The file is 800kb in size and can take up to 15 seconds to download.

The project was developed after a report by tourism, wireless-access and interaction-design researchers at University of Limerick.