FOURTH ANNUAL COMPETITION FOR
THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAVELERS STARTS IN APRIL 2007
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In GreatEscape2007: The Global Scavenger Hunt,™ fifty travelers will compete in a three-week around-the-world trip beginning in Los Angeles and ending in New York. The combined travel adventure competition and international charity event will run from April 14 to May 5, 2007.
“GreatEscape is all about allowing real travelers to compete in a real travel adventure competition, for all the right reasons—the love of travel, trusting strangers in strange lands and giving something back to the planet,” says event director William Chalmers.
Teams earn points by completing cultural-oriented scavenges in exotic countries. The Global Scavenger Hunt website includes examples like: For 10 points, competitors find the early morning market in Japan that sells "blue gold," then taste the item. (Tsukiji Fish Market, in Tokyo, sells bluefin sushi tuna at dawn.) For 25 points, in Egypt, a participant rides a camel around one of the Seven Wonders of the World (the Pyramids), wearing a traditional Arab galabyia and a headdress purchased in Khan al-Khalili, Cairo's Grand Bazaar.
“It is like Survivor, The Amazing Race and the Eco-Challenge all rolled into one, except with much more cultural interaction," says a former contestant. But, unlike TV reality shows, there are no losers or competitor eliminations. Everyone wins awards. The first-place team earns The World's Greatest Travelers title and wins the opportunity to compete in GreatEscape2008 for free.
Called A Blind Date with the World, the event is a cultural immersion rally rather than a race. Teams test their ability to combat jetlag, language difficulties, cultural differences, unusual foods and logistical problems.
The 25 teams of two have no idea where they're going until they're onboard a 747 bound for at least 10 countries, on four continents.
Travelers each raise or pay the $9,900 entry fee, which includes all international airfares and hotels, and some meals, during the 23-day event. Fees aid in fundraising for charities including CARE, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Partners in Health and International Special Olympics.
The competition will be filmed. Footage will be supplied to interested media outlets like The Travel Channel, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, CTV and the BBC.
The 50 participants are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. Single travelers can ask Global Scavenger Hunt organizers to try to match them with another single traveler to form a team.
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