A double-decker bus tour of quake-damaged Christchurch has won a special mention in a Lonely Planet travel guide.
The travel publisher today named Christchurch at No.6 on its Top 10 Cities for 2013 and now a couple who run bus tours in their Routemaster open-top double-decker are celebrating worldwide publicity.
Lonely Planet suggested the Hassle-free Tour's trip was one of the best ways for visitors to explore Christchurch.
Mark and Nikki Gilbert, who run Hassle-free Tours, brought the 1964 Routemaster bus to Christchurch last year.
"Lonely Planet is the travellers' Bible so to get a mention in their guide is fantastic. Their suggestions carry huge sway with travellers so we could not have asked for a better start to our second year of running the double-decker tours," Mr Gilbert said.
The company now has five purpose-built vehicles and three double-decker buses, and expects to carry 17,500 passengers this year.
Immediately after the February 2011 earthquake, the company's visitor numbers plummeted by 80 per cent but the company took quick action to continue operating and retain staff.
They introduced the double-decker bus tours of Christchurch and started offering charter tours.
"The earthquakes forced us to re-think our business but we were determined to continue offering visitors to the region a high-quality experience and we are thrilled that we have managed to do that. Christchurch has a very interesting story to tell and we're committed to being part of the story-telling," Mr Gilbert said.
Earlier this month Mr Gilbert, who started his business in 2003 when he was 23, won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Young Tourism Entrepreneur Award.
He said it was amazing to see how far the city had come since the earthquakes.
"I love the way the city has got up and moved forward. I am so impressed by how people have helped one another to rebuild the city."
Bus visits organised by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority through Christchurch's red zone late last year were extremely popular with more than 28,000 people taking the weekend and evening trips over a six-week period.
- By Siobhan Leathley of APNZ
