The 2011 Effective Mobile Marketing Awards Ceremony, headline-sponsored by Upstream, is just three days away. Today, we continue our preview of the finalists in each category with a look at the entries shortlisted for the Most Effective Mobile Travel & Tourism Solution category.

The Awards Ceremony takes place in London this Thursday, 3 November. If you havent yet booked your place at the event, theres still time – but tickets are selling fast. In fact, there are just a few seats remaining. Right now though, lets take a look at the companies and campaigns vying for the honours in the Travel & Tourism Solution category, in alphabetical order.

Crafted Media/Colchester Zoo – Colchester Zoo Mobile App

Available on iPhone and Android, the Colchester Zoo mobile app delves into the Zoo’s 60 acres of parkland and 260 species of animals. With a zoomable map and What’s On Guide, visitors can choose from over 50 displays, add them to their personalised schedule and even receive reminders 10 minutes before each show starts.

Created by digital agency Crafted Media, the app aims to improve the visitor experience, and encourage more people to visit. It’s also educational, offering information about the animals at the zoo to adults and children alike. The app also integrates with Colchester Zoo’s existing and future marketing tools, making it a vital promotional tool. The app has seen strong download numbers, even though it is yet to be given its full PR launch.

Incentivated/British Airways – British Airways SMS Customer Service Messaging
BA’s text service allows UK and US registered users to get up-to-the-minute flight information for yesterday, today, and the next 14 days, sent via SMS direct to their mobile phones.

Set up by Incentivated on its SMS platform, the BA SMS service can also inform customers when they are able to check-in online, announce any disruptions to service, and inform customers of any baggage handling notifications. There are also notifications for staff members booking flights on ‘standby’.

The airline’s services use mobile as a way to deliver timely customer service messaging, reducing passenger frustration during periods of uncertainty, such as in adverse weather conditions. The SMS services also serve to free up the time of customer service staff on the ground.

RedFish Media – MGM Luxor Las Vegas Mobile Alerts
Mobile marketing agency Redfish Media’s mobile alerts system for the Luxor in Las Vegas provides the hotel’s customers with personalised notifications. Messages can include property information, new store openings, hotspots, events, promotions, and more.

Once a guest checks in, they can opt in to receive mobile alerts. Within the mobile alerts program, Red Fish Media provides an SMS Smart Drip application that allows Luxor to continuously engage its guests throughout their stay, with a number of segmentation options to best target their communications.

The Luxor aimed to increase its CRM database, boost revenue, and improve consumer interaction with the brand through the messaging solution. The system proved successful, with over 80,000 opt-ins in 12 months. The campaign also garnered $100,000 in incremental revenue and over 75,000 iPhone app downloads.

TripAdvisor – TripAdvisor App
Travel website TripAdvisor responded to the increase in the dynamic use of mobile devices in consumer travel with its smartphone app, which is available for iOS, Android, Nokia, Windows Phone, and Palm devices.

The app offers a ‘Near Me Now’ feature, that allows travellers to find nearby hotels, eateries and attractions wherever they are in the world. On the iPad 2 and iPhone, the app has a ‘Live View’ feature, which uses Augmented Reality to bring up TripAdvisor reviews, laid over the image from the device’s camera.

TripAdvisor received 10m unique visitors from mobile and tablet devices in May 2011 alone, including the app and mobile web. The app is available in more than 123 countries.

There are just a few seats left at this years Awards Ceremony. To book your place,  please email [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 77696 74824. Tables of 10 cost £2,050, while individual seats are priced at £225, both including a 3-course meal and unlimited drinks.

And dont forget theres a native iOS app, a hybrid Android app, and a web app for other platforms, for the event. More details on that here.