Christopher Preston, chief operating officer for the sightseeing operator, told TTG that it has been "trying to get in for four to five years and it came together last month."

He said that it would begin operations with 10 buses all of which will be newly refurbished with new livery. These will run on a route that "covers all the main sights" including the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps.

"For us, it’s a city you have to be in," said Preston, "and the characteristics of Rome are perfect for a flexible product like ours."

Preston said the tours would launch with five languages as Big Bus Tours expects Rome to attract more international visitors that some of its other tours which have a high number of domestic customers.

With a lead time of six weeks until the tour opens Preston acknowledged that there is a lot of work to do but is confident that his experienced team will handle it well.

"We’ve rolled out six new cities in the last two years so it’s something we are well practiced in," he asserted. 

The launch follows a roll out in Chicago in May this year, which Preston said was "phenomenally successful".

"Chicago is running 30% ahead of the customer numbers that we expected for the first season."

The Chicago tour is currently running in English as it has a high number of domestic customers but from next summer Big Bus Tours will roll it out in 5 languages.