Big Bus Tours has announced the official launch of its Dublin operation, becoming the 20th city in its global portfolio.
The Dublin launch follows the recent signings of the agreement between Big Bus Tours and the Dualway Group to acquire the company’s Dublin based hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour operated by Irish City Tours.
Introducing the first Big Bus Dublin bus to the city, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, cut the ribbon at bus stop 1, 13 Upper O’Connell Street, alongisde Phil Boggon, EVP of Western Europe at Big Bus Tours; David McConn, MD of Big Bus Dublin; and Mark Rowlette from Failte Ireland. Over 100 customers also received Big Bus Tours goody bags.
Dublin joins other world famous European cities in the Big Bus Tours portfolio including London, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Vienna and Istanbul. Customers can enjoy technology advancements implemented by Big Bus Tours over recent years, including digital content, free WiFi, Real-Time Bus Tracking and the ability for customers to locate their nearest stop through the mobile app.
Through combined experience and with an excellent team of live guides already in place, visitors to Dublin will continue to enjoy the live guide experience. Through the Big Bus Tours training programme, Dublin’s Big Bus Tours team will engage, inform and entertain customers in this historical city, providing a multitude of options for passengers to hop off, and explore the city’s Georgian streets, medieval churches, and taste its world-famous Guinness stout.
Alex Payne, CEO of Big Bus Tours 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. As an ‘owner-operator’, Big Bus Tours is able to use its global portfolio to develop best practices for use across all its cities and deliver high standards of customer service, which has resulted in Big Bus Tours being ranked the number 1 bus tour on TripAdvisor in the open-top sightseeing category, in almost every city we operate in”.
David McConn, MD of Big Bus Dublin and former MD of the Dualway Group Limited, commented, “We are proud to officially announce the acquisition of our Dublin City hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour, by Big Bus Tours with the launch today. The synergies between Big Bus and Irish City Tours through the shared vision, commitment and belief in the provision of exceptional customer experiences make this a perfect fit. It’s an exciting time to be joining the Big Bus team and continuing to grow the Dublin operation into the future.”
Lord Mayor of Dublin Nial Ring said “It’s great to see that the world’s largest open top sightseeing tour operator has launched operations in Dublin. This is another endorsement of the magnificent Dublin tourism experience. We have seen significant growth in tourism this year, with many overseas visitors, particularly from the US, visiting Dublin. A Big Bus Tour is one of the many ways for visitors to make the most of the city with local Dubliners showcasing the best of what our historic city has to offer and their presence here is most welcome”.
