A Passport to Savings: How Holiday Shopping Campaigns Can Drive Foot Traffic (and Fun)

If you're a tourism or BIA manager, you know that the holidays are a blur of competing priorities (and let's be honest, probably a few too many early morning emails). Trying to launch a high-impact campaign that acts like a passport to savings can feel impossible, especially while also coordinating events and managing stakeholders.

The big challenge isn't the idea of a holiday shopping campaign, it's building one that's genuinely fun for visitors and manageable for your small team. We need an approach that feels less like administrative work and more like an exciting event.

How Digital Passports Create an Immersive Travel Experience

Digital passports and gamified rewards programs turn a simple shopping trip into an engaging town-wide adventure. Instead of relying on old-school paper punch cards that get lost, you can use a mobile-based system to encourage people to visit multiple businesses. This isn't just about selling things; it's about making your town the destination for holiday fun and providing an immersive travel experience right in your own community.

My personal a-ha moment came when I was working with a small BIA that was spending thousands on printing flyers and maps every holiday season. They were getting maybe a return on their paper coupon books. We shifted to a digital passport to savings model instead. Every check-in or purchase at a local shop earned a point toward a big regional prize. The simplicity and the chance to win something great were huge drivers.

Key Takeaway

The biggest win isn't the prize itself, but the journey of discovery; a digital passport makes it easy for visitors to find and explore businesses they didn't know existed.

Simple Steps for Launching Your Passport to Savings Program

The best seasonal campaigns are low-friction and high-fun. Here are three simple steps to get your passport to savings off the ground without overworking your team:

1. Map Out the Fun: Select 10–20 unique businesses that want to participate. Group them into fun categories, like "Cozy Coffee Crawl" or "Unique Gift Finder." Don't just include retailers; add a local museum or a gallery to boost cultural tourism foot traffic, too (it's a great way to cross-promote, after all).

2. Gamify the Visit: Set a simple reward structure. For example, if a visitor checks in at five different mapped locations using your self-guided tour app, they automatically receive a digital coupon for a free hot chocolate at a local spot or an entry into a grand prize draw. The Downtown Brampton BIA, for instance, saw 3,000+ digital check-ins during a single weekend festival just by adding an ice cream reward and a contest entry.

3. Keep it Scannable and Simple: Make the instructions crystal clear. The more effort a visitor has to put in, the less likely they are to participate. A quick, one-click check-in or a simple QR code scan is always better than filling out a long form (trust me on this one).

Pro Tip

Look at the success of the Sussex Lights Up Holiday Tour, which saw 3,500+ participants in 30 days. Seasonal themes plus interactive rewards lead to repeat visits and stronger family engagement.

What’s the easiest way to encourage shoppers to visit multiple local businesses?

Campaign Type	Benefit for Shopper	Benefit for BIA/DMO
Digital Rewards Passport	Automatic prize entry, discovery of new shops, and easy tracking.	Collects valuable user data (visits, popular stops) and drives measurable foot traffic.
Paper Punch Card	Simple to understand at the point of sale.	Low barrier to entry for businesses, but no data collection or visitor insights.
Digital Coupon Book	Direct discount on a purchase.	Easy to track redemption rates for individual businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a digital passport to savings in the tourism context?

A: A digital passport is a mobile-friendly campaign that uses a self-guided tour platform to encourage visitors to check in at various local businesses or points of interest to earn points, rewards, or entries into a contest. It's a way to gamify local exploration and measure foot traffic without the cost of printing.

Q: How do I measure the ROI of a holiday shop local campaign?

A: With a digital platform, you can measure ROI by tracking the number of unique user check-ins, the total views on business listings, and the overall participation in the reward program. For example, the Town of Riverview's "Business Bee" Scavenger Hunt generated 4,087 POI views in less than a year, with nearly half that engagement tied directly to the hunt. This gives you concrete numbers to report back to your stakeholders.

Q: Is a digital rewards program too complicated for a small-town tourism team?

A: Absolutely not. The goal of a digital tourism platform like Driftscape is to lighten the admin load. The initial setup takes some time, sure, but once the POIs are mapped, the system runs automatically. You don't need extra staff to manage the check-ins or the reward tracking. Bruce County saw 18,000+ visits and won a national award for their gamified campaign, all with no extra staffing.

Q: Where can I find examples of successful regional tourism campaigns?

A: You can look at successful campaigns from across Canada and the US, ranging from the Downtown Carleton Place BIA's Hardy Boys Scavenger Hunt to the Michigan Heroes Museum audio tours. The key is to find case studies that demonstrate how simple, story-based content can spark significant visitor engagement, which you can read more in Destination Canada's resources for successful tourism initiatives (it’s a fantastic resource).

Getting a strong passport to savings campaign running for the holidays doesn't have to be a source of stress. Focus on making it genuinely fun and easy for the people who visit your town, and the results will follow: more foot traffic, more sales, and a happier community.

Book a demo and make your holiday shopping campaign the easiest thing on your to-do list!