Touch Media, best known for its Route 66 Navigation app, announced Thursday it has introduced the third edition of the Route 66 Passport for the 2022 and 2023 tourism season.
The new edition, which comes with a dark blue cover and an embossed Route 66 shield on it, is available at many Route 66 distribution points and on Shop.Route66Navigation.com. The passport has proved to be a potent tool for businesses and museums to increase their visitor numbers.
Touch Media increased the recommended retail price of the Route 66 Passport to $12.99 because of higher production and distribution costs. However, it is also increasing the sales commission to partners to help them achieve higher revenue.
According to a news release:
In the 2022/2023 season, travelers will get a stamp with a small gift, as well as valuable tourist information at up to 37 locations along Route 66. There are also a number of major improvements to the 76 pages.
Illustrator Joyce Harbin Cole has drawn completely new illustrations for the eight state Route 66 corridor. Passport holders will also enjoy the stunning photographic artistry of Jim Livingston, author of the unique “I am Rt 66” project. While previous editions of the Route 66 Passport were dedicated to the memory of Wilem Bor and Gary Turner, edition 2022/2023 is dedicated to the memory of David Clark, who unexpectedly passed away in January 2022. The content was prepared again by well-known Route 66 author and historian Jim Hinckley and Marián Pavel.
“Covid19 has hit the entire tourism industry hard. Many businesses on Route 66 were forced to close. That’s why we decided to use our marketing power to help the selected business recover,” said Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America, distinguished collaborator who played a significant part in passport’s final form.
In collaboration with Dora Meroney of Texas Ivy in Amarillo, Texas, the Route 66 Passport team selected Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas, as a business to assist. With the generous help of photographer Jim Livingston and a sponsorship gift from Touch Media, Midpoint Café has its own passport page. This will result in an increased number of visitor stops.
“If this new sponsorship project proves successful, we plan to continue it with future editions. As it is extremely important for the situation to stabilize after the pandemic, we are glad that many new ones have joined us in the third edition,” Marián Pavel, CEO of Touch Media, said.
A complete list of stamp locations and places where the passport can be purchased is at route66passport.com.
Touch Media also created an e-book on Route 66 travel planning that’s available in eight languages. (Disclosure: Touch Media previously has been an advertiser on Route 66 News.)
(Image of the new Route 66 Passport courtesy of Touch Media)