20 April 2021

Whilst much of the country’s attention has been focused on pubs, shops and hairdressers re-opening as lockdown restrictions begin to ease, there’s another group of people jumping for joy that they can get back out there and do the job they love… professional tourist guides.

Unable to lead in-person tours for much of the last 12 months, Blue Badge Tourist Guides can once again offer outdoor guided tours – within the current legal gathering limits – at many of the UK’s most fabulous locations. These tours can be provided for a single permitted group of visitors (up to six people, or two households) or multiple permitted groups, providing they are kept separate throughout the tour.

And, with domestic leisure travel and self-catering stays for single households now allowed across England, what better time to book the services of a professional guide?

Guided tours are often regarded as something overseas visitors do whilst in the UK, or as an option Brits only consider when visiting a foreign location. However, the Institute of Tourist Guiding (www.itg.org.uk) is keen to remind us of the appeal of engaging a professional guide when travelling on home turf.

Whether it’s an urban walking tour of fascinating cities such as London, Oxford, Canterbury, Cambridge, Bath, York or Liverpool, or a rural ramble around scenic spots like Northumberland, the Cotswolds, Lake District, Yorkshire Dales or the West Country, you can be assured that your professional guide will know the area inside out. For a private tour, the guide will even tailor the itinerary to reflect your own pace and preferences.

And, given the stresses and strains of the past year, who needs the added faff of deciding what to do when you finally arrive at your holiday property, when you can hand the reins – and the responsibility of keeping the family entertained for a few hours – to a Blue Badge Tourist Guide?

Carole Hiley, President of the Institute of Tourist Guiding, says:
"During lockdown, some enterprising Blue Badge guides have been busy delivering superb virtual tours. But we’re all chomping at the bit for face-to-face interaction, and to take guests for real-life tours on the streets of our villages, towns and cities, and out in the countryside.

“For Blue Badge Tourist Guides, providing informative, well-crafted and entertaining tours isn’t just a job, it's also a passion. Along with our rigorous training, it's why we believe we are the best guides around. We are so looking forward to showing visitors the delights of our country again.”

To find a Blue Badge guide with expert knowledge of where you would like to take a tour, visit the website of the British Guild of Tourist Guides, www.britainsbestguides.org.

Looking for a special gift? Blue Badge Tourist Guide Vouchers are priced at £185 for a half-day private tour (up to four hours, morning or afternoon) and £295 for a full-day tour (up to nine hours), spent exploring Britain’s fascinating heritage. Prices are per group, so a tour can work out as a great-value option per head, for two households taking a tour together. For more details visit www.britainsbestguides.org/voucher.

The Institute of Tourist Guiding (www.itg.org.uk) is committed to developing, maintaining and promoting professional standards in tourist guiding in England, as well as Northern Ireland and Jersey. It represents Blue Badge Tourist Guides (who specialise in regions), Green Badge Tourist Guides (who are qualified to take tours in specific towns and cities), and White Badge Tourist Guides (who work at heritage sites).

Ends

Note to Editors:

Media and publications interested in commissioning or sampling the exemplary Blue Badge Tourist Guiding service for themselves, in return for an article (print and/or online, with photography, of a pre-agreed length, to be published in 2021) should contact Travel PR to make arrangements.

For more information or to arrange a tour with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide at a location to suit you, please contact Karen Carpenter (k.carpenter@travelpr.co.uk; 07879 458 482) or Sue Ockwell (s.ockwell@travelpr.co.uk; 07831 126 356) at Travel PR.