The Blue Badge tourist guide is a guide who has been certified as a qualified and accredited guide for tourists in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
History
The initial certifying organization, originally called the Guild of Guide Lecturers, was founded to identify qualified tourist guides for the
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951.
Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...
in 1951. After being renamed several times, it became the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides and more recently the British Guild of Tourist Guides. In 2002, the Institute of Tourist Guiding was established to accredit tourist guide training programmes, assess qualifications and language proficiency, accredit trainers, and award badges.
Qualification
The Institute of Tourist Guiding examines and accredits guides in England. In
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, the Scottish Tourist Guides Association (STGA) sets the standards and accredits all the training courses. All Blue Badge guides must pass the Institute's exams or the STGA's exams. They study for up to two years at university level, taking a comprehensive series of written and practical exams which qualify them to become Blue Badge Tourist Guides.
To qualify, potential guides must complete an extensive curriculum and pass exams. The Institute of Tourist Guiding awards three different badges:
*The blue badge identifies a tourist guide who has qualified for guided walks, guiding at sites, and guiding in moving vehicles, in a specified region.
*The green badge identifies a tourist guide who has qualified for guided walks and at sites in a city, town, borough, or area of the countryside.
*The white badge identifies a tourist guide who has qualified for either guiding at a specific site or for a guided walk along a fixed route.
References
External links
British Guild of Tourist GuidesHeart of England Tourist Guides AssociationThe Driver-Guides AssociationNorthern Ireland Tourist Guide Association
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Tour guides of the United Kingdom