Top 12 Digital Passports to Launch This Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, it's the perfect time to spark some festive cheer with creative digital passports! Families are planning seasonal activities, friends are gathering for holiday celebrations, and travelers are looking to discover the magic of this time of year in your destination.

Digital passports can take holiday guides to the next level by gamifying the experience, driving participation, and helping you collect valuable first-party data.

This not only helps destination marketers grow their email lists but also allows for better targeting in future campaigns.

What is a Digital Passport?

A digital passport, often referred to as a tourism trail or check-in challenge, is a powerful tool in destination marketing that promotes attractions and boosts visitor engagement through gamified check-ins.

Participants follow curated tourism trails and digitally “check in” at each location to earn digital badges, often alongside enticing prizes.

These passports can be location-based to direct visitors to specific attractions, or experience-driven to encourage engagement with unique activities and memorable occasions.

Ideal for the holiday season, a digital passport invites visitors and residents to attend festive events, shop locally, and seek out seasonal attractions. This initiative not only stimulates spending within the community but also enhances the economic vitality of the area.

With engaging leaderboards, social sharing features, and prize incentives, digital passports create a buzz, offering destinations a unique way to market to both locals and tourists.

Plus, when visitors check in and share their experiences with photos, destinations gain valuable user-generated content that enhances their connection with audiences.

Why Launch Digital Passports This Holiday Season?

The holiday season is a vibrant time for local communities, as families and friends come together to celebrate and connect. However, making a mark during this bustling period can be challenging for local businesses and events. In addition, recent data by MMGY indicates a spike in holiday travel interest, making it essential for destinations to find innovative ways to attract visitors.

Launching a digital passport this holiday season will give you valuable insights about visitor and local preferences that can enhance future marketing efforts. This truly is the season that keeps on giving!

To maximize your impact, consider using our Digital Passport Launch Kit, designed to streamline your holiday digital passport campaigns and achieve greater reach and adoption.

Top Digital Passports to Launch This Holiday Season

Get inspired by these festive digital passport ideas tailored to highlight the seasonal gems of your destination. Each concept can be customized to fit your unique attractions and target audience, ensuring an engaging and memorable experience for visitors and locals alike.

1. Holiday Lights Trail

Create a dazzling passport that guides visitors through the best holiday light displays in your area. Encourage participants to check in at each location and snap photos, with rewards for visiting multiple sites.

This is a fantastic way to highlight and celebrate neighborhoods and parks that go all-out for the season!

2. Hot Cocoa Crawl

Warm up this winter with a trail of local cafes and chocolatiers featuring creative hot cocoa concoctions. Participants can earn badges for trying different drinks, and cafes can offer discounts or special treats for passport holders.

It’s a sweet way to support local businesses!

3. Winter Wonderland Adventure

Craft a digital passport that guides locals through a festive winter wonderland, showcasing exciting activities such as ice skating rinks, sledding hills, and winter hiking trails. This interactive experience encourages community members to explore thrilling seasonal adventures while collecting digital badges for each activity they complete. As residents embark on their winter escapades, they not only create lasting memories with family and friends but also support local businesses and outdoor recreation providers.

Each stop can offer unique challenges or activities, like building a snowman or completing a scavenger hunt, keeping the excitement going all season long.

4. Festive Family Activities Trail

Create a passport filled with family-friendly holiday activities, such as tree decorating, cookie decorating classes, visits with Santa, and festive craft workshops. Each activity offers an opportunity for families to bond and create cherished memories together. By participating in these engaging experiences, families can immerse themselves in the holiday spirit and explore the unique offerings of your destination.

5. Crafty Holiday Passport

Partner with local artisans to create a passport that encourages visitors to check out holiday craft fairs, workshops, and local art galleries. Participants can earn rewards for participating in crafting sessions or purchasing handmade items, supporting the local arts community.

6. Small Business Saturday #ShopLocal Passport

Celebrate the spirit of shopping local with a Small Business Saturday Savings Pass! This digital passport can highlight participating small businesses offering exclusive discounts and promotions for one day only. Encourage participants to visit and check in at various shops, cafes, and boutiques to unlock special rewards and offers and earn badges.

Not only does this initiative support local entrepreneurs, but it also fosters community engagement and encourages shoppers to discover unique treasures in their neighborhood.

7. Festive Cocktails Trail

Craft a festive cocktail trail featuring pop-up bars and restaurants to entice revelers to try unique concoctions. Local bartenders can get creative, with colorful drinks and festive names like a Mistletoe Martini or Jingle Juice. And don’t forget seasonal classics including eggnog and hot toddies.

8. Seasonal Scavenger Hunt

Design a holiday-themed scavenger hunt where participants check-in at various locations to find holiday decorations, hidden treasures, or unique holiday displays.

Choose a specific festive icon — candy canes, elves, snowflakes, Santa — and put up posters or stickers all around downtown to get folks walking around to find them all. Use QR codes to streamline the check-in process. With Explore, you can generate and export unique QR codes for each stop along your scavenger hunt.

This interactive experience encourages exploration and creates a sense of adventure for kids and kids-at-heart!

9. Community Charity Challenge

The holiday season is a time of giving, and it’s a prime time for local charities to receive extra donations and support. Bolster their end-of-year donation drives with a community-centered challenge.

Encourage check-ins at various charity events throughout the season, from fun 5k runs that support local organizations to food and clothing drives, school fundraisers, charity bake sales, and more.

10. Winter Wellness Passport

Promote health and wellness during the holiday season with a passport that highlights local yoga studios, wellness retreats, and outdoor activities.

Participants can earn rewards for attending classes or completing outdoor challenges, helping them stay active amidst the holiday hustle.

11. Fur-Family Festivities

Craft a digital passport for fur-families to enjoy, too! Find all the festive events and activities where Fido is welcome, create a trail, and get your local dog aficionados to check in at each one.

If you have local dog food suppliers, pet stores, or grooming spa(w)s, these are ideal spots to support, especially if they decorate for the holidays for fun photo opportunities!

12. Dry January Digital Passport

As the holiday festivities wind down, encourage visitors to kick off the new year with healthy habits through a Dry January Digital Passport. Highlight local businesses that offer non-alcoholic beverages, wellness classes, and health-focused events.

Participants can earn badges for trying new N/A drinks and participating in activities that promote wellness, making it a perfect way to start the year off right!

Get Started with Digital Passports This Holiday Season

Launching a digital passport this holiday season is a fun and impactful way to engage visitors and locals alike. Don’t miss out on the chance to collect valuable first-party data and grow your email lists, enhancing your holiday offerings and future marketing campaigns.

Book a demo to learn how Explore can supercharge engagement and make this the season that truly keeps on giving.