Glen Shackleton, director of Haunted Walks Inc., told OBJ his company bought 25-year-old Conference Aide Tours in late December. The company announced the deal on Jan. 28.
For Mr. Shackleton, an OBJ Forty Under 40 recipient whose organization has operated for just under 15 years, it’s a major coup that he says allows his firm to expand its mandate considerably.
“We’ve just been doing walking tours,” he explains. “But the Conference Aide business also does step-on (bus) guided tours, as well as delivering itineraries for different groups, and guided tours as well.
“We were in discussions with the parent company for quite some time, and we thought it made sense for both of us.”
Conference Aide Tours was sold by Ottawa-based event planning firm DMC Ottawa, which in turn is owned by the Intertask Group of Companies, a local conglomerate.
Other tour guide operators in Ottawa include Step On Guides Canada Inc., Gray Line’s bus tours and the amphibious Lady Dive Tours.
“What’s exciting for us is that it opens the door to create new products. We’ve had groups asking us if it’s possible to do haunted bus tours, for example, for people who don’t have a lot of mobility,” says Mr. Shackleton, who says he’ll be expanding the Haunted Walks staff along with taking on all 25 tour guides at Conference Aide.
“Our early prognosis is that business is picking up this year, and we’re really looking forward to this year’s season. Our advance bookings are significantly up from last year.”
Haunted Walks operates in both Ottawa and Kingston and was founded in 1995. It is known for its cloaked, lantern-bearing guides.
