Gap Adventures Announces Winner of Their Global 20th Anniversary 'Create Your Own Adventure' Travel Contest

    TORONTO, ON, June 03, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The wait is over. The thrilling Spy Mission: European Edition (http://createyourownadventure.com/tour/tjz7LC5uj8T3/) itinerary has been named the winner of Gap Adventures' (www.gapadventures.com) hugely popular Create Your Own Adventure travel contest.

The trip's creator, 23-year-old management consultant Ryan Fossella--who will have the opportunity to experience the adventure along with two lucky guests and five additional contest winners--designed his unique 12-day espionage-themed itinerary with three simple objectives in mind. He set out to establish a storyline to capture thrill-seeking travellers' imaginations, provide opportunities to participate in exciting adventure activities on his personal bucket list, while also enjoying comfortable lodging worthy of a discerning international super spy.

"I chose the 'spy theme' because there is a sort of romanticism around their exciting lifestyle," Fossella explains, "but on this vacation I wanted to gloss over the harsh conditions that they go through day-to-day."

Spy Mission will cross Switzerland, Germany and Italy with travellers living the cloak-and-dagger lifestyle through a series of challenges in pursuit of the elusive 'Mr. Cunningham'. As Fossella explains: "The goal will be to do all of the cool stuff spies do, but without the danger or discomfort. Think of it as a cross between a James Bond movie and an episode of 24." Gap Adventures will be working with Fossella to create an itinerary that realizes the spirit and theme of his idea. The resulting tour will be featured in the 2011 brochure.

The Create Your Own Adventure grand prize winner was chosen both by user voting (50%) and a panel of selected judges (50%). After user voting was completed on April 25, the top 20 finalists were reviewed by Gap Adventures' prestigious judging panel for the final stage of the voting process. The winning itinerary was announced on May 25.

The competition garnered immediate international attention drawing nearly 7,000 itinerary submissions from 111 countries, with the Create Your Own Adventure website drawing traffic from an astounding 172 countries.

"It's no surprise this contest appealed to such a diverse group of people," said Gap Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip. "We're committed to changing people's lives with any of our experiences, and in this case it was a chance to build the itinerary of their dreams and share it with the vibrant community that grew out of the Create Your Own Adventure competition. I'm thrilled with our results."

As Fossella points out, Spy Mission was designed not only to take him back to the European countries he recently explored and fell in love with, but also to provide the kind of fast-paced, life-changing adventure so many of us crave, but never manage to experience.

"This is a goal-oriented trip, inclusive of challenges that not only inspire people's imaginations, but do so without intense pressure and discomfort," he says.

The Create Your Own Adventure contest invited everyone from once-a-year vacationers to seasoned globetrotters to submit an itinerary for the tour of their dreams, virtually anywhere in the world, virtually any way they wanted. Participants used the customized itinerary engine at www.createyourownadventure.com to build their dream trip.

About Gap Adventures
Gap Adventures is a world leader in the adventure travel industry offering small group adventures on all seven continents and beyond to more than 100,000 global travellers annually. The award-winning trips, which focus on culture, nature and active travel, are ideal for those with a sense of adventure - people who want to leave the beaten path and authentically immerse themselves in a local culture or environment to experience the real world in a sustainable manner. Demonstrating its ongoing cultural, social and economic commitment to responsible tourism, Gap Adventures established the Planeterra Foundation, as a way the company and its passengers can give back to the communities visited. For more information, please visit www.gapadventures.com and www.planeterra.org

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