Touch Media, the folks behind the Route 66 Navigation app, announced this week the release of the fourth edition of its popular Mother Road Route 66 Passport.
This year’s edition contains 44 stops along Route 66 where travelers can have their passports stamped. More from the company’s news release:
The passport, now 82 pages, was conceived to enhance the Route 66 experience by encouraging stops to collect special stamps and a small souvenir at each participating location.
The places promoted in the Passport are carefully selected by our team of Route 66 professionals.
“We are primarily looking for visitors centers, chambers of commerce and museums where travelers are provided with local and regional information. Where cooperation with visitors centers is not possible, we carefully select small Route 66-focused businesses. We simply request that all selected stops support other local businesses, restaurants, and motels to ensure that travelers have a memorable experience on Route 66,” explains Marián Pavel, CEO of Touch Media.
For westbound travelers, the first location for a Route 66 passport stamp is the Illinois Rock And Roll Museum on Route 66 in Joliet, IL. In addition, in the fourth edition an array of new participating places have been added.
In addition to adding new stamp locations, this edition of the passport has more pages and a quality glued binding to ensure durability.
“It’s the best Passport we’ve ever made,” says Jan Švrček from Touch Media.
The Mother Road Route 66 Passport retails for 12.99 euros, or $13.95, in the U.S.
The fourth edition is dedicated to the late Annabelle Russell of the Sandhills Curiosity Shop of Erick, Oklahoma.
Each year, Touch Media also sponsors a page to promote a business selected by its marketing team. In 2023, the profiled business is Tumbleweed Bar and Grill in Texola, Oklahoma.
The passport is designed by a team of Route 66 authorities and enthusiasts including artist Joyce Cole, illustrator of the passport maps. The team includes Marián Pavel, Jan Švrček and Dries Bessels, tour guide and founding member of the Dutch Route 66 Association. Author and historian Jim Hinckley serves as a content consultant.
Touch Media also is preparing the “2023 Route 66 Passport Brand Book” on how to use the passport as a tool for community development, increased sales and enhanced marketing at no cost.
Touch Media is also working on design and content for a special edition Route 66 centennial passport.
“We have prepared a concept with breathtaking effects for the centennial in 2026. All I can reveal for now is that the Passport will have a distinctive gold cover. We will publish more details later. Currently, we are hosting a series of planning sessions with existing and prospective partners as well as our design team.
Our goal is to ensure that the Centennial Passport a treasured commemorative souvenir,” Pavel said.
The centennial passport will use specially prepared illustrations by Cole.
Touch Media, headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia, also created an e-book on Route 66 travel planning in eight languages.
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