Airtours, the British tour operator is expanding its operations in the Irish market through the acquisition of the Panorama Holiday Group.

Airtours is to pay £10.5 million sterling (£12 million) in cash plus 2.2 million new Airtours shares to Panorama for the business. It has also purchased the US-based tour operator Vacation Express Limited for $24.3 million (£16.3 million).

Panorama is a specialist British short-haul tour operator carrying passengers between Britain and Ireland. This year it expects to carry 165,000 on these routes.

The company employs 13 people in Ireland and is one of the largest tour operators in the Irish package holiday market. In 1998 it expects to carry 55,000 passengers from Ireland.

The Panorama group reported pre-tax profits of £3 million sterling last year and has net assets of £3.4 million sterling. Following the acquisition, the Panorama business will now be managed as part of Airtours' UK Leisure Group.

Announcing the acquisition yesterday, Airtours chairman, Mr David Crossland, said it represents an exciting opportunity for the group to enter the fast-growing package holiday market in Ireland.

"We will work with Panorama to develop and grow the business and, in particular, to take full advantage of synergies and opportunities for profitable growth, not least by making available our aviation and distribution resources."

Airtours is the largest air inclusive tour operator in the world carrying 8.4 million passengers a year. It has operations in Britain and already has a presence in the Irish market through its Going Places travel agency chain. It also operates in Scandinavia, the US, Canada, Poland, France and the Netherlands. Airtours operates travel agencies, hotels, aircraft and cruise ships.