The 2009 Explore the Bruce Adventure Passport is back for another year.
It started in 2005 as a way of getting more local people to learn and enjoy more about Bruce County.
Tourism Coordinator Chris Hughes says interest is gathering steam and now people from outside the County are using it as a way to plan their entire vacation.
Hughes notes awareness has also spread quickly online through a busy “Explore the Bruce” Facebook group.
There are 12 stops on the passport tour, participants get their card punched at each one and are eligible to win over 10 thousand dollars in prizes.
Prizes include being a member of Wiarton Willie’s Shadow Cabinet, Co-Captain of the Chi-Cheemaun for a day, and spending a week as the Assistant Lighthouse Keeper at Cabot Head.
The stops include Denny’s Dam near Southampton, the Saugeen First Nation Amphitheatre, Singing Sands near Tobermory, and the Holyrood General Store.
Special detours are inserted into the tour in order to make the experience more adventurous.
For the official launch event on Wednesday — teams of local media personalities and elected officials travelled around the county visiting some of the stops.
South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Gwen Gilbert did the tour by motorcycle.
She says the Adventure Passport makes it possible for people to leave their homes in the morning and spend the day travelling the county and experiencing things they’ve never seen before and then return home that night.
With an economic recession underway, Hughes says the Adventure Passport is a free, ready-made trip.
He says all travellers need is a form of transportation and the will to read a map and navigate.
Hughes says when combined with local campgrounds and hotel accommodations, it’s a really cheap way to take a trip.
Over 20 thousand people have participated since 2005, creating an estimated 9.7 million dollar boost to the local economy.
Explore the Bruce Adventure Passports are available at various locations throughout Bruce County and the contest runs until December 5th.