Lexington, Kentucky goes to an extraordinary tourism campaign, way out of Earth’s atmosphere. A new project launched by VisitLEX, the city’s tourism bureau, will be the first attempt to transmit a message to any potential extraterrestrial visitors travelling around 40 light years away, making Lexington a city that wants to welcome the interstellar traveller.

All of this lends to a very novel, science, technology and tourism marketing hybrid campaign that will capture the imagination of earthbound and, let’s hope, potentially other worldly visitors. Advanced radio transmission technology sent the carefully constructed message beaming into space on the message of Lexington’s cultural and attractions.

VisitLEX President Mary Quinn Ramer said the reasons for this unprecedented step. This has always been a city that thinks outside the box. We’re not just thinking outside the box we are literally thinking outside the solar system,’ Ramer said. It may seem fanciful, but this project text books Lexington’s willingness to keep moving forward without excluding any elements of life  or possibly other elements of life  and it’s an extension of our long history of embracing visitors from everywhere, whether they’re from near or far, in all terms.

The transmission contains information on Lexington’s rich history, its cultural landmarks and its natural beauty. Distinct emphasis was placed on aspects potential visitors from other worlds might find appealing, such as the city’s horse racing tradition, bourbon distilling process and the special limestone-filtered water that constitutes world famous Kentucky bourbon.

The project was consulted by astrobiologist Dr Sarah Johnson, who praised its scientific merit. The primary goal could be tourism promotion, but this project has real scientific worth. Importantly, this helps us to understand interstellar communication and asks questions about how we would communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence, said Dr. Johnson.

Other headlines waxing eloquent about Lexington’s transformed city centre have run in international news outlets and on social media, creating buzz for a city that’s now the centre of the world. The theme has been enthusiastically embraced by local businesses: many restaurants and shops are offering “alien inspired” products and experiences.

The campaign is the doings of a venture capital firm run by none other than Tom Wilson  owner of a popular downtown bar. We’ve morphed a ‘Cosmic Cocktail’ menu that’s been a huge hit with customers. I’m surprised to find this fun out of this world idea has brought the community together and attracted curious visitors from far and wide.

The probability of an actual extraterrestrial response is infinitesimally small but the campaign has achieved its earthly objectives. Since the announcement, tourism inquiries about Lexington have gone up, as many potential visitors cheque out the city’s mix of old fashioned charm and creative spirit in motion.

The alien tourism campaign also fits into Lexington’s overall effort to promote itself as a centre of innovation and technology. This unique initiative hopes to draw in tech companies and startups to the area, hoping they will help diversify the local economy.

The campaign, however, has not gone unscathed. Residents have voiced worries over using public funds to back an unconventional project. VisitLEX has counters that the bulk of the money spent designing and running the campaign was raised through private donations, and the return on investment in increased tourism, and publicity around the world, is hundreds of times more than the money spent.

While Lexington waits for a response from the cosmos (which, if there is one, won’t get here for at least 80 years), the city remains open to visitors from around the globe. Beyond putting Lexington on the map for potential extraterrestrial tourists, the alien tourism campaign has had the benefit of showcasing the city’s willingness to try new things and break new ground in what it does with tourism and economic development.

Even if Lexington never plays host to interstellar visitors, this innovative campaign has certainly accomplished the task of sparking imagination, conjuring up a sense of community, and calling attention to the one of a kind character of this Kentucky city. And for Lexington, it’s a time to look toward the stars to guide its future tourists, as though shining might be the least it can do while waiting for visitors in the old-fashioned way right here on Earth.