Blue Badge tourist guide

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|image1 = ENGLAND-REGIONAL-BLUE.gif

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||caption1 = The England Guides’ Badge

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|caption2 = The Scottish Guides’ Badge

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|caption3 = The Wales Guides’ Badge}}

The initial certifying organization, originally called the Guild of Guide Lecturers, was founded to identify qualified tourist guides for the Festival of Britain in 1951. After being renamed several times, it became the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides and more recently the British Guild of Tourist Guides.{{r|campbell}} 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.{{cite web | title=Institute of Tourist Guiding | website=About the Institute | url=https://www.itg.org.uk/about/about-the-institute/ | access-date=January 30, 2023}}{{cite news | newspaper=The Independent | title=Katrine Prince | date=22 October 2004 | page=40 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117606062/katrine-prince-obituary/}}

The Institute of Tourist Guiding examines and accredits guides in England. In Scotland, 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.blue-badge-guides.com/BlueBadge.html|title=The Guild of Registered Tourist Guides - Britain's Blue Badge Tourist Guides|website=Blue Badge Guides|access-date=2010-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916033829/http://www.blue-badge-guides.com/BlueBadge.html|archive-date=2010-09-16|url-status=dead}}

To qualify, potential guides must complete an extensive curriculum and pass exams.{{r|campbell}} The Institute of Tourist Guiding awards three different badges:{{cite web | title=Institute of Tourist Guiding | website=Our Qualifications Explained | url=https://www.itg.org.uk/about/our-qualifications-explained/ | access-date=January 30, 2023}}

• 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.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://britainsbestguides.org/ British Guild of Tourist Guides]
• [http://www.hetga.co.uk/ Heart of England Tourist Guides Association]
• [http://www.driver-guides.org.uk/ The Driver-Guides Association]
• [http://www.nitga.co.uk/ Northern Ireland Tourist Guide Association]

{{Tourism in the United Kingdom}}

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Category:Tour guides of the United Kingdom