Following a pandemic that severely impacted the tourism stakeholders, Open Tour Paris reopens with a focus on dynamism and renewal: new brand, new offer, new app, and an entirely-upgraded fleet of electric and bio-NGV-powered buses. The company now focuses on the city, to rebuild a relationship with tourists and Île-de-France residents.
Open Tour Paris becomes Tootbus Paris, a brand representing its renewed ambition
Open Tour Paris merges with the Sightseeing businesses in Bath, Bristol and London into a single brand: Tootbus. This new identity is meant to emphasise two of RATP Dev’s Sightseeing activities’ core components, which were redesigned over the past few months:
- On the one hand, the desire to take on a new positioning and role that Tootbus wishes to play at the heart of the city. Since its inception, the company has expressed the desire to be more than a mere “transport operator”. The goal is rather to be a tourism and entertainment key player, concerned with creating unforgettable experiences for its customers.
- On the other hand, the desire to resume tourism activities after a year at a complete stop due to the COVID-19 crisis under new conditions:
- The services are further digitalised to streamline and improve the customer experience. For example, audio-guides will be available at all times as podcasts on the Tootbus app, which can be found on the App store and Google Play
- Our offers are adapted to better meet the more local and family-friendly clientele’s needs. Among the new options offered are the “Kids tour”, which provides an entertaining, educational and environmentally-friendly city tour, and “Paris by night” (“Paris la Nuit”), which takes its passengers through the magic and romance of Paris by night.
Under the current circumstances, Tootbus’s open-topped buses also provide an “open-air museum” experience. The goal is to provide users with an incentive to expand their journeys in Paris and its agglomeration beyond symbolic locations. Tootbus’s new offer was designed and dedicated to tourists and Île-de-France residents, as more of the latter will no doubt wish to experience Paris during the summer.
Of course, all activities adhere to the measures issued by the health authorities.
“Let the city surprise you”
Along its new identity comes a promise to its passengers: “let the city surprise you.” Discovering and rediscovering the city is a full experience, for both French visitors and tourists arriving from abroad.
« An open-topped bus tour is often a visitor’s first activity. The tour is a way to enter a new urban environment, understand its topography, visualise its neighbourhoods and better grasp its cultural, social and economic wealth. Our purpose is to create memories and a relationship with Paris, as our understanding of the city can be renewed through the experiences we provide.. » Benoit Barraud, General Manager at Tootbus Paris
A sustainable commitment, embodied by an ultra-low-emission bus fleet
Tourism must be made more sustainable to stimulate the sector and support the city’s revitalisation. It is both a societal responsibility and a strong lever. It also means welcoming visitors differently.
« We have always taken into account our activities’ environmental footprint in our strategic development. The very significant investments made since 2018 have now resulted in a fully-electric and bioNGV bus fleet. The buses are ready three years ahead of 2024, which was the deadline given by Paris City Hall to end diesel use in its Climate Plan.» says Arnaud Masson, Directeur Exécutif des activités de Sightseeing au sein de RATP Dev.
In this unprecedented context, Tootbus Paris offers an original tour of Paris from 17 June on a fleet of 15 double-decker ultra-low-emission buses. Nine of them are electric, and six run on bioNGV.