How Viking Splash Tours plans to become the McDonald's of city tours
The Irish company has designed its own vehicles to take the concept international.
THE COMPANY BEHIND Dublin’s Viking Splash Tours is planning international conquest next year after it finalises the development of its patented, amphibious vehicles.
Time has caught up on the repurposed 70-year-old DUK vehicles that are used for the daily Viking-themed tours around Dublin’s city centre, with spare parts in rare supply and higher environmental standards also looming.
However, over the past four years, the company behind the tours has invested around €5 million in developing a modern version of the World War 2 vehicle to replace its existing fleet.
It has been a major move to future-proof the business by directors Fergal and Des Rogers, who bought the business in 2006 from its founders, Peter and Lynda Stocks.
Speaking to Fora, Fergal Rogers said a prototype of the new, purpose-built amphibious vehicle, called the ‘Salamander’, will be completed in late spring or early summer and will then be put to use in Dublin.
He added that the ultimate aim of the project was to develop a fleet of vehicles that could be used in different cities worldwide for tours.
“London is certainly a target for expansion next year and in 2018 – it would be a showcase city – but we have a list of enquiries and interested parties from around the world.
“When we exhibited our vehicle at the European Attraction Show in September, we got quite a wide interest. Since the showcase was in Barcelona, there was quite a lot of interest from Spanish companies. One in particular has expressed an interest to have exclusivity on a number cities.”
Business model
The new Salamander vehicles will be developed out of the company’s own facility in Belfast. Once fully operational, the factory will be able to produce 12 of the vehicles a year.
While the company isn’t manufacturing the vehicles from scratch, the design and assembly will be handled in the Northern Ireland facility, Rogers said.
“If we were of a mind to sell one to you, it would be £364,000 (€435,000), but we’re not in the business of selling. We will be either partnering, doing joint ventures or franchising the splash-tour concept, and at all times we will be owners of the vehicles.”
He said the company is developing a “McDonald’s-type model” on a worldwide scale, tweaking the brand it has already created in Ireland to suit different locations.
“We have all the templates for how to operate the business. We will joint venture with you or have a franchise arrangement and you have to follow these templates.”
Rogers added that the parent company will be able to remotely check on the performance of each Salamander in use worldwide – and even shut down vehicles if they became unsafe.
Replicating the experience
While Dubliners would be familiar with the regular Viking ‘roars’ from the company’s city-centre tours, Rogers said the concept would need to be adapted for other locations.
“If you were operating in London and were down in Canary Wharf, instead of giving out viking helmets you might use the bowler, business-type look that you get with folks in London,” he said.
“You might put a financial slant on it as well by making people buy their ticket for £18 at the start of the trip but if, at the end, the share price has dropped to £16, so you get a refund of £2.”
Water-based tours already operate in London
Targets
The tour firm has carried over 115,000 passengers this year, according to Rogers, and is going to fall just short of €2 million in revenue for 2016.
But London will be the “biggest prize” in the coming years for the company, with the firm planning to move into the market with a dozen of its own vehicles – despite another tour operator already running a similar ‘splash tour’ experience there.
In the long-term, he wants the company’s new vehicles to become a staple in every major tourist destinations and for punters to know that when they use the Salamander they will get a high-quality experience.
“It’s like seeing a City Sightseeing bus, you know whether you see one in London, Berlin or Barcelona, you know the product you’re going to get.
“You know it will hit all the key points around the city and I can expect comfort and properly regulated bus.
“That’s exactly how we are planning on setting ourselves up so that you will recognise the splash-tour vehicle whether it is in Paris, Barcelona, Dublin or London.”
