ShopDineTour Toronto began as Shop Toronto in May of 2002. Having purchased a fifteen passenger trolley in September 2002, owners Timothy Finlason and Troy Lamsee offered tours to Toronto locals as well as visitors, showcasing Toronto’s many shopping districts. Over the course of their first season, Tim and Troy quickly developed important relationships with local hotels and downtown retailers helping them expand and develop the tour.

In anticipation of the 2003 tourism season, Shop Toronto acquired an additional fifteen passenger trolley and expanded the tour to incorporate both shops and restaurants, with an important focus on Toronto history. By the end of the 2002 season, both Tim and Troy noticed the incredible demand for double decker bus tours and resolved to purchase their first two antique double decker buses in late 2002. Over the course of 2003, the owners renovated their first and second double decker bus and developed and implemented a logistical plan for the operation of a full jump-on, jump-off double decker city tour. Despite the onset of SARS, in only its second season of operation, ShopDineTour Toronto offered a full-scale jump-on, jump-off tour with two double decker buses and stops at over 20 locations throughout city. It was a very successful season.

In 2004, ShopDineTour Toronto’s expansion continued. ShopDineTour Toronto began its season armed with a highly motivated staff, a fleet of buses and a deep commitment to the success of a post-SARS Toronto tourism industry. The season went incredibly well, with the company further solidifying ShopDineTour Toronto’s relationship with local hotels and businesses and making a place for itself in the upper echelon of Toronto’s tourism industry.

The success of past years carried into 2005 and early in 2006 ShopDineTour Toronto was selected from all of the city’s tour companies to operate a Sightseeing and Tourist Information Kiosk in the centre of the Yonge-Dundas Square, another victory for what was fast becoming the number one double decker tour company in the city of Toronto.          

ShopDineTour Toronto’s growth, since its inception in 2002, has been both ambitious and stable. Despite this growth, ShopDineTour Toronto has remained faithful to its roots as a locally owned and operated company, supporting the vision of a safe, diverse and successful city.