Big Bus Tours has official launched operations in Dublin, the 20th city in its global portfolio.
Introducing the first Big Bus Dublin bus to the city, the lord mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, cut the ribbon alongside Phil Boggon, executive vice president of western Europe at Big Bus Tours.
Also present were David McConn, managing director of Big Bus Dublin, and Mark Rowlette from Failte.
The launch follows the recent signing of the agreement between Big Bus Tours and the Dualway Group to acquire the latter’s Dublin based hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour operated by Irish City Tours.
Alex Payne, Big Bus Tours chief executive, said: “Dublin is a world class tourism destination that is seeing strong growth in visitor numbers year on year.
“It complements the Big Bus portfolio perfectly, and will bring us another step closer to our vision, to become the number one thing to do in every world famous city.”
He added, “Irish City Tours already run an excellent operation and it is an exciting time to acquire such a professionally run business, which has been successfully showcasing the Emerald Isle’s capital city to visitors since the 1990’s.
“As a result of such success, the existing leadership will remain in place as we believe their experience and commitment, coupled with our proven formula of building successful operations in cities across the world, will enable us to further enhance the customer experience, and value for money.
“We look forward to working with all key Irish City Tours partners to ensure mutually beneficial growth.”
Dublin joins the world-famous European Cities in the Big Bus Tours portfolio including, London, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Vienna and Istanbul.
As market leaders in the field, customers will enjoy technology advancements implemented by Big Bus Tours over recent years, including digital content, free Wi-Fi, Real-Time Bus Tracking and the ability for customers to locate their nearest stop through the Mobile App.