The Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association (ADBIA) has launched a Shop and Win Holiday Passport, which runs from December 1 to January 9, 2022.
The passports are now available at over 50 participating shops, boutiques, salons, restaurants, cafés, and other businesses and organizations in Ambleside, Dundarave, and Hollyburn.
“This is the first year we have launched the Holiday Passport and it brings an excitable shopping buzz into our villages,” says Maureen O’Brien, Executive Director of the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association (ADBIA).
“In order to combat online and big box shopping trends, we have to support programming that celebrates the physical shopping experience. We have all types of businesses participating in the program from clothing to jewellery, furniture to antiques, grocery stores to coffee shops, legal services to optometry, there really is something for everyone. You can also have your passport stamped by purchasing gift certificates for use at a later date. We really tried to ensure we had a wide range of participants so that there was an opportunity for everyone to complete their passports.”
The ADBIA wanted to focus on exposure to the businesses and not just dollars spent, so to complete the passport participants simply need to make a purchase – any purchase, no minimum – in eight different participating businesses.
After a passport is filled with stamps, the completed passport can be dropped off at a ballot box location or can be mailed to the ADBIA office.
The holiday shopping passport features a festive design and comes in a pocket/purse-friendly format. Each completed passport is a ballot for one of three grand prize draws of a $2000+ basket full of unique items and gift certificates from our participating businesses.
There is no limit as to how many times you can enter so pick up your passports and “travel” around the villages to shop and support local.
Statistics show that for every $100 spent with a local business, $63 is re-circulated back into the local economy.
“With 3000 passports currently available, if all are completed that would mean 24,000 transactions from our local businesses. The impact of this could make all the difference to some of our businesses in making it through what has been a very challenging time,” O’Brien states.
“Over the past 18 months, our small businesses and our community have truly emulated the ADBIA’s slogan of It Takes a Village to Make a Village and we look forward to this trend continuing through the holiday season.”
A list of all participating businesses and full details can be found at www.adbia.ca/passport.
