Institute of Tourist Guiding

31/03/2026

We’re delighted to share that Blue Badge Tourist Guide, Alex Lacey, was selected as a Judge for the recent Visit England Awards, contributing her expertise to the Taste, New Tourism Business and Pub of the Year categories.
This recognition highlights not only Alex’s outstanding knowledge, but also the depth of expertise within the Professional Tourist Guiding community.
👏 Well done, Alex — and thank you for representing our profession so brilliantly.

22/12/2025

From our Management Board we wish all our dedicated Blue, Green and White badge qualified guiding community and our valued tourism and heritage stakeholders a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, successful, and prosperous New Year!

Thank you for your support throughout the year. We look forward to working with you all in 2026!

17/12/2025

2025 has been a very busy year for the Institute and here are just a few highlights ...

Grateful for the extraordinary dedication, skill and passion of our guiding community, we very much look forward to developing our work further in 2026!

11/12/2025

We are thrilled to announce the accreditation of a NEW Blue Badge Guide Course covering the stunning ceremonial counties of Somerset (including Bath & Bristol), Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. The course is run by local experts, Cadence Training, whose directors are two experienced Blue Badge Tourist Guides.

Ready to start your guiding career in September 2026? View & download the Prospectus and apply before 15 February 2026. Don't miss this opportunity to start a new career in 2026 and gain the highest guiding qualification in the UK

https://www.itg.org.uk/courses/our-courses/somerset-gloucestershire-wiltshire-blue-badge-training-course

The officially recognised standard-setting and awarding body for tourist guiding in England, Northern Ireland and Jersey

26/11/2025

We are thrilled to announce that Life Fellowships have been awarded to the following members for their significant contribution to the Institute:

Sarah Cowling, is a Yorkshire and London Blue Badge and a City of London Green Badge tourist guide. She is also an Institute-accredited trainer.

Simon Bennett is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and was President of the Institute between 2015-17.

We thank them for their sustained hard work and exceptional contribution to our professional guiding community and we look forward to working with them in the future, harnessing their considerable expertise to further our mission and goals.

📸 Pat Langford

Yorkshire's Best Guides

20/11/2025

Congratulations to Institute members Viv Robinson and Gregory Wright for their well-deserved industry awards last week.

Gregory Wright, North West Blue Badge Tourist Guide, won Ambassador of the Year at the Love Lancaster BID Business Awards 2025. Viv Robinson, South West Blue Badge Tourist Guide and Institute Board Member, won Outstanding Contribution to Cornish Tourism at the Tourism Awards - South West

These awards, once again, reflect the incredible commitment and quality of Institute-qualified tourist guides across the country.

14/11/2025

A huge thank you to all our members who joined us in Bradford yesterday for our AGM, and especially grateful for the warm Yorkshire welcome from our colleagues at Yorkshire's Best Guides

We were thrilled to hear from our special guests, Minister for Tourism, Stephanie Peacock MP, Victoria Borwick from Visit England and Shanaz Gulzar from Bradford 2025 City of Culture as well as tourism and heritage stakeholders who joined us during a morning session.

A lively and insightful event placing professional tourist guides at the centre of place-making, local pride, the visitor experience and the importance of excellent standards of tourist guiding across the UK.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport VisitEngland Bradford 2025 Yorkshire's Best Guides

14/11/2025

Thank you for joining us Julie. A lively, busy and insightful day for all!

09/11/2025

07/11/2025

We're delighted to invite Institute Members to our Annual General Meeting taking place on 13 November, in the vibrant cultural hub of Bradford, UK City of Culture 2025.

We very much look forward to a day of insightful discussions and networking, reviewing a busy year with fellow members and hearing from our special guests: Minister for Tourism, Stephanie Peacock MP, Lady Victoria Borwick, Visit England Advisory Board Chair and Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, Bradford City of Culture 2025.

Delighted also to welcome key local tourism stakeholders to discuss the success of the Institute's White Badge training collaboration at Knaresborough and Hull, transforming local pride to a tourism community asset for these historic towns. The event will also spotlight guide training initiatives from Bury St Edmunds and Northern Ireland.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Bradford!

Stephanie Peacock MP Department for Culture, Media and Sport VisitEngland Bradford 2025 Northern Ireland Tourist Guide Association Bury St Edmunds Tours Yorkshire's Best Guides

29/10/2025

We were delighted to attend the recent graduation ceremony of 19 new Canterbury City Green Badge Guides.

It was an honour to see the guides presented with their certificates by The Lord Mayor, Cllr. Keji Moses, and receive their badges from President of the Institute, Jackie Clare.

This was the culmination of a six month journey of intensive training followed by four rigorous written and practical exams to earn this professional guiding qualification.

A warm welcome to our newest Green Badge guides! We look forward to them sharing their expertise and passion for Canterbury with global visitors.

Visit Canterbury Canterbury City Council