Sawt Falasteen - Austria says won't repeat 'transport pass for tattoo' campaign

Following the launch of the so-called "climate ticket" in Austria -- which costs 1,095 euro for unlimited travel on public transport for one year -- the promotional scheme was carried out at two popular summer festivals.

Forty-two attendees got various motifs advertising climate protection, including the pass's name "KlimaTicket", tattooed on their bodies, a parliamentary inquiry showed.

As a reward for their commitment to the environment, six of them received the much sought-after yearly pass on a first come, first served basis.

"There are no plans to repeat it (the campaign) at the moment," the environment ministry told AFP.

The other festivalgoers, who got inked under the scheme, did so because the tattoos were for free, the ministry added.

Apart from the tickets, the costs for the campaign amounted to almost 23,000 euros to pay the tattoo artists, materials and the advertising agency, according to the inquiry.

In August, Austrian daily Der Standard blasted the move, accusing Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler, who endorsed it, of having launched a "sustainably stupid publicity stunt".

Politicians also criticised the campaign for being "undignified".

Faced with harsh criticism, Gewessler said the ministry wanted to target a younger audience, citing that more than 40 percent of the people under 35 in the Alpine country have at least one tattoo.

The campaign "promoted the KlimaTicket and the importance of public transport -- it worked," the ministry said at the end of August.

While acknowledging the "slightly provocative" aspect of the initiative, it stressed that "these people are of legal age", thus able to freely choose whether to get "a tattoo, get married, have children, or build a house".

To date, more than 262,000 people have purchased the yearly pass.

L.Hussein--SF-PST